Revenge on Pokemon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun
by funngurl
Summary: It's been 6 years since Operation Brighton, Kate and Keith are both 22 years old, and things have been fairly quiet at the Union... Until now. Suddenly, Erma's receiving complaints about suspicious activity, and even Team Dim Sun sightings! But that can't be true, Team Dim Sun disbanded after Operation Brighton... Didn't they? Vontageshipping KeithxKate, slight IsaacxRhythmi
1. Team Dim Sun Returns?

**Hey readers! Funngurl here! It's been a LONG while since I've written/posted anything! You know how it is, University life makes you crazy (or, you know, maybe you don't). Either way, I've just finished Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and it was brilliant! So, I've decided to write a Fanfiction concerning the characters I've come to love over the past couple weeks. If they're OOC at all, I apologize; I'm basing everything I know off the game. I've never seen the anime or read the manga, so I'm constructing the personalities the best I can. That's also why I'm writing from Kate's perspective. Her perspective is what I've been playing from. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this story, because I've put a lot of thought into it so far. This chapter is mainly meant to set up some backstory for the characters, on what happened since Operation Brighton, it's been some time since then, and we'll find out where our lovely characters are now, and introduce a new issue. Also, I hope you like the little romance aspect of it, too! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my first ever Pokémon Ranger Fanfiction! :) Please R&amp;R, constructive criticism is always welcomed ^^**

* * *

Erma stood very still, her back facing me. I waited for her to speak; I had never seen her quite so on edge before. I said nothing, but went pondered the idea of breaking the uncomfortable silence. But what would I say? Nothing really fit the situation. I went over the words in my head, until suddenly-  
"I'm glad you got here so quickly, Kate" Erma muttered, staring out the large window before her, overlooking Almia.

"Of course I did, Erma. I always do" I said, smiling good-naturedly at the old woman as she finally turned around.

She smiled back to me, "You're right, you do. But the reason I called you here is we have a bit of a… situation at hand, and I need my top ranger to attend to it. Everyone around here knows that's you" she said, regaining her serious composure.

"You flatter me, Erma. I just do my job, protecting the people and Pokémon of Almia at all costs. So, what's this big job you have for me?" I asked, feeling my anticipation build. I could tell this would be more than some rookie mission, like the ones I used to attend to when I first started at the Union, but now that I've been here 6 years, I've built a pretty good reputation.

Since Operation Brighton, 5 years ago, we haven't had a whole lot of trouble to attend to. Sure I went patrolling, and had a bunch of Quests to help out citizens all over Almia. Now and then we still got missions, like rounding up a herd of raging Tauros that went rampaging through Altru Park, or a beached Wailord, unable to get back in the water, that was what I tended to deal with, but by Erma's serious and unusually stoic expression, I could tell this was something bigger than that.

Erma stood silently a moment longer, like she was thinking hard about something, until she finally spoke again. "See… Now, don't be alarmed by this but… Over the past couple weeks I've been getting reports from citizens, reporting sightings of Team Dim Sun members sneaking around Almia," stated Erma, still looking fairly on-edge.

"Wait, you're kidding me, right? Team Dim Sun disbanded five years ago! There's no way Mr. Hall would try to pull Team Dim Sun back together after what he went through with Darkrai… There's gotta be some kind of mix-up!" I protested, once I realized that Erma really wasn't kidding.

"Calm down, child, I told you not to get alarmed. I thought the same thing you did when I started getting these reports. At first, I assumed that people were being paranoid because of how horrific the last incident was, but after 5 years it did seem a bit strange that only now citizens would begin acting out of paranoia. Anyways, over the past couple of weeks we've had a lot of reports from Boyeland about suspicious activity going on in Volcano Cave. Residents have been seeing a lot of individuals in black outfits entering and leaving the cave daily, some of them Pokémon being flown in by Pokémon. Could you go to Volcano cave and see what's going on?" Erma requested earnestly, her expression was confident, but I could still see the smallest bit of fear in her eyes; fear of what was to come if Team Dim Sun really was back in Almia.

"I'll definitely check it out, but Erma; shouldn't this be a team project? I mean, if Team Dim Sun really is back to their old tricks, shouldn't I go with someone to check this out in case it's some kind of trap? I know Keith has been busy at the Ranger School lately, helping train the students, but what about Sven or Wendy?" I asked. I wasn't afraid of Team Dim Sun in the least, nor did I worry that I couldn't face them alone. However, if there was anything I had learned from the past, it was that Team Dim Sun was almost always expecting me, and had something ready that I wouldn't expect.

"No, no, let's not be hasty dear. This could just be a big hoax, a joke by some kids or something. Besides, Sven and Wendy left for the Fiore region on a top secret mission yesterday, so they won't be back for a couple weeks at least. Kate, I know you can handle yourself up there" Erma said, assuredly. I was always astounded by how much faith she had in me. Seeing the citizens and Pokémon of Almia safe and happy made my job worthwhile.

"Okay, I'll head up there and see what's going on" I said, "But first I need to make a stop at my Dad's partner farm, in Chicole Village first. I think Chimchar would be best for this mission. He loves Volcano cave, and my other partner's get too hot if they're in there too long". I waved at Erma, jumped on my Staraptor as soon as I left the union, and headed off to the village.

After paying a short visit to Mom, Dad and my little sister, I got Chimchar, and set off for Volcano cave. I arrived with 4 valuable Pokémon; Chimchar, Flygon, Garchomp and Staraptor. When I entered the cave, there was a weird sound echoing throughout. It was a very low, vibrating noise, almost like a bass without the rest of the music in the song, or any kind of beat. Just a continuous echo, that made my head hurt. Chimchar whimpered beside me, covering his ears, Flygon shook her head back and forth vigorously, Garchomp growled viciously, looking for the source of the noise, and Staraptor let out a low cry, signalling his own discomfort at the situation. "I know it's horrible, guys, but we have to keep going, and find out what's going on" I whispered, they all nodded in agreement, despite their dislike of the situation.

We continued onwards for a while, and I found it strange that I didn't encounter a single Pokémon on the way. Not only were they not attacking, but I couldn't even see or here any Pokémon anywhere! Where they hiding from something? Or was something much more sinister going on? Whatever it was, I was sure to find out. Suddenly, I began hearing a quiet murmuring from further within the cave. I ducked behind a large boulder, and strained to hear what the people were saying. Was it Team Dim Sun? Or someone else?

I only heard bits and pieces of the conversation," La- … so proud… Not like… find us… can't even… te-… I-…" Another voice joined in, "I really… not so good… idea that… Pokemon would… always ta-…" Still nothing I could decipher. Finally, a louder voice rang out that I could understand better, "Both of you, shut up. Listen, if they think it'll be that easy, they can think again! We're not rookies, like they think we are. In fact, we're better than ever! Let them show up, I'll show them who's boss around here! No Ranger can match up against the likes of me! I'll make Team Dim Sun the strongest it has ever been!"

"Confident, isn't he?" I thought to myself. At that moment I knew it was time to go in, and I whispered aloud, "If it's a fight he wants, a fight he'll get. Guys, stay back here, they could have traps set for intruders. I'll go in first, you come in when I need you, got it?" the Pokemon all nodded, confident expressions, and trust in their eyes. I flashed a determined grin of my own, and rushed in.

"You called?" I shouted, as I ran towards them. Suddenly, as suspected, I was knocked to the ground. I got to my knees and realized I was covered in a surprisingly heavy net. Wait- A net? Really? This seemed so old-fashioned for the previously high-tech Team Dim Sun!

"Speak of the devil!" The loud and proud member who had just been boasting said, walking over to me, a smirk on his face. He was a fairly stout man, with shoulder-length brown hair, a sharp-looking, angular face, and a Team Dim Sun grunt uniform. I had definitely never seen this one before, so if Team Dim Sun really was back in business, they'd obviously recruited some new Grunts.

"You know, it's ironic that you call _me_ the devil, when I was just thinking the same thing about you" I shot back. The grunt just grinned at me, the other two Grunts muttering inaudibly to each other behind him.

"Oh-ho-ho, well lookie here, a Ranger with some attitude! Silly Ranger, you come here with no support Pokémon, and run head-first right into our trap. You must still be a rookie over at the Union, huh?" What was with this guy? Not to sound conceited, but everyone in Almia knew my name, Keith's, Sven's, and Wendy's since Operation Brighton, so where was this guy from?

"Where are all the Pokémon?" I asked, glaring at him.

"That's for me to know, and if you weren't such a noob, maybe you'd be able to find out! But you're stuck now, little Ranger, and at our mercy!" he cried, his cohorts laughing next to him. It had been a long time since I'd been called a noob… in fact, when was the last time I was called that?

"You think this flimsy net can hold me? You guys are the noobs!" I cried out, getting to my feet, and wrestling around with the net that was covering me. It was surprisingly heavy, and well-grounded, but nothing I couldn't get out of, I was sure.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" the grunt warned, pulling something out of his back pocket. Suddenly, my entire body tensed up as electricity coursed through it. Intense pain surged through me, and I could feel the rope burning into my skin. As the electricity released me, I fell to the ground, unable to move. I felt as if I had just been on fire, and struggled to catch my breath, only hearing the Grunts laughing hysterically.

"Look at the "big and strong" Ranger now! She's shaking!" The obnoxious grunt cried out as the other 2 who had been silent the entire time chortled loudly. Flygon came charging in upon witnessing my electrocution, and began slicing at the net with her claws but, as he electrocuted me again, Flygon cried out and fell to the ground. I felt the burning pain pulse through me again, and Flygon gave me an apologetic look as she charged out of the cave.

"Flygon… Wait…" I pleaded weakly, but she was already gone. I heard Staraptor's piercing cry as he snatched the remote from the Grunt's hands and flew above their heads. All 3 of them tried to grab it, but to no avail, as Staraptor grasped the remote in his talons. Chimchar and Garchomp were at my side immediately, pulling at the net, trying to get it off of me. I smiled at them, working so diligently to save me. I couldn't have been luckier than to get such loyal Pokémon on my side. The net was still well-grounded however, and no amount of pulling would shake it.

After a few more minutes of the Dim Sun Doofus' trying to reach Staraptor and me, starting to regain my bearings, Flygon game charging back in the cave, a Gallade following close behind her. She let out a cry, and Gallade nodded, sliced through the electric net, careful not to hit me. It fell away and I felt incredibly light as I was released. "Thank you, both of you!" I cried as I got to my feet again. Gallade nodded at me, before speeding off again, Flygon stayed however. Staraptor dropped the remote and flew behind me, and Chimchar and Garchomp were at my side.

The Grunts took off running, but I followed close behind them, until suddenly, they stod before a huge metal machine, that was the source of the vibrating, humming sound. I glared at the Grunts. "So, are you going to tell me what I want to know, or am I going to have to force it out of you?" I asked with a dangerous tone.

The Grunts looked unnerved by this, but the Grunt who had done all the talking spoke up, "W-Why would I tell you, when I could show you instead? Camerupt, Torkoal! Attack!" Suddenly Camerupt and Torkoal exited the machine, a black cloud surrounding them, they charged out of the cloud and directly at me, their eyes completely black, like the cloud. Team Dim Sun was definitely up to their old tricks again.

I whipped out my Styler, and switched it to Capture on, and began encircling the 2 as fast as I could, avoiding their flame attacks. "Garchomp, use crush on the machine, Flygon use cut, now!" I cried. The two rushed over to the machine and both of them attacked with their full power, just as I captured both Camerupt and Torkoal. Sparks flew from where Garchomp used crush, and Pokémon spilled out of the machine from the cut Flygon had made. Their eyes were all pitch black, like the other 2, and they were also clouded in that black fog, but as the machine broke down, the fog faded and the Pokémon regained their senses.

The quiet Grunts finally began speaking. "P-Please don't hurt us!" one of the Grunts cried, scuttling back against the wall.

"W-W-We'll do anything!" The other sputtered, joining his comrade.

"Fools!" Cried the arrogant Grunt, as a black-eyed Espeon appeared beside him. "Espeon, teleport!" he cried, and the 4 disappeared, and all I saw was the slight glimmer of something that was hanging around the Espeon's neck.

* * *

"I'm home!" I cried, as I dragged myself through the door of my apartment, after watching the Dim Sun Grunts disappear with a helicopter, reporting back to Erma, and having a full medical examination in the medical ward. I found out I would be fine, luckily, but the burns would take a while to heal.

"Hey," said Keith, who was now my husband of 2 years, poking his head out from the kitchen, "You're home late."

"I know, I had a pretty busy day. Big news" I said, walking into the kitchen and giving him a light peck on the lips, as he focused his attention on stirring a pot on the stove and reading a piece of paper next to the stove, and didn't notice the burns on my back. "Whatever that is, it smells great. Thanks for cooking again," I said gratefully.

"New recipe," he muttered, as he added some salt, "I hope it tastes as good as it smells. Now what's this news?" He asked.

"Um, okay… you need to promise you won't freak out when I tell you this," I started slowly.

"Okay, okay, I won't freak out," replied Keith distractedly, who still hadn't looked away from his recipe.

"Okay… Team Dim Sun may be back," I said, slowly. Keith's eyes widened, and he looked at me for the first time since I got in. That's when he finally noticed the burns.

"Oh my God, Kate, what happened!?" he cried, frantically, forgetting about the stew he left on the stove.

"Erma got a call about some suspicious activity in Volcano Cave. She sent me to investigate, and they had an electric net," I told him, calmly. "Don't worry, I was checked out at the Union, and I'm fine," I assured him. Keith wasn't convinced.

"Fine!? Kate, you're covered in burns, that isn't fine!" he cried. "When I find those Dim Sun creeps, I'll make them pay!" he grumbled, the determination that I loved about him, burning in his eyes.

"Keith, you promised you wouldn't freak out, please calm down, I'm really okay," I said, trying to sound soothing.

"But- I- You-!" Keith began, but gave up, sighing, calming himself down. "Okay, I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be yelling at you. I just worry about you, you know?" he admitted, gazing into my eyes.

I smiled at him, thinking about how much I loved him. "I know you do," I said softly, "But I'll be okay, I promise. I'll tell you everything that happened today."

"Alright, and I have some cream that's good for burns. I can get it for you," he offered.

"Thanks, but if you don't get back to the stove, your stew's gonna burn, and I doubt your cream can fix that," I pointed out, smirking at him, playfully.

Keith tensed at the mention of the stew he'd forgotten. "Oh, right!" he cried, rushing back to the stove, and stirring the pot vigorously, looking back at the recipe for guidance. I couldn't help but giggle at his constant antics. Even though we'd both grown together he was still as silly, clumsy, funny, and crazy as he always has been, and it's just another thing about Keith that made me fall for him in the first place.

"I'm gonna go change, and I'll tell you all about it over dinner, okay?" I said, turning to leave the room.

"One minute," he said, as he adjusted the heat on the stove, then walking back over to me, he kissed me more fully, pulling me close against him. I wrapped my arms around him, running my fingers through his fiery red hair.

"I love you, Kate," he said, after pulling away his forehead against mine.

"I love you, too," I said, smiling up at him. And with that, he let go, and went back to his cooking, and I went to our room to change, and gather my thoughts while doing so. I had a lot of explaining to do over dinner.

**So, this seemed like a good place to leave it. I really wanted Keith and Kate to be together, cause the 2 seem to have such a great connection, in the way they interacted. Hope you like my plot so far! There's much more to come, and as I expand on this story, I'll give more background info on what's happened in the 6 years since the end of the game. I'll go into details on how Kate and Keith got together in the first place, and what became of some of the other main characters, as well as revealing what's going on now with Team Dim Sun and who's behind it all. I hope you liked it, and please let me know what you thought! Until next time!**

**Funngurl~**


	2. Research and Reassignment

**Hey guys! Funngurl here again, for Chapter 2 of my Pokémon Ranger Fanfiction! I really enjoyed reading the feedback I got on Chapter 1, so I worked really hard on getting Chapter 2 out quickly, too! ^^ I'm really glad you guys like my ideas and writing style; it really shows me how far I've come as a writer since I first joined FAC 9 years ago. Yeah, I was only 11 then! So, anyways, your feedback means a lot to me, and I really enjoy something that I know others can enjoy as much as I do! So, I hope you like this chapter of "****Revenge on Pokémon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun" :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games, and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

"Okay, so I still don't understand one thing; WHY DIDN'T ANYONE CALL ME?" Keith asked, emphasizing the last part of the sentence more than he needed to. That's Keith for you, though, always exaggerating. He was rubbing the burn lotion on my back that he had mentioned before dinner. Ever since I told him what happened, he'd been doing nothing but asking questions, some questions that I had already answered, and I was beginning to get just slightly irritated.

"I already told you why! You were busy at the Ranger school, and Erma knows I can handle myself. We weren't even completely sure it wasn't a hoax before I was assigned the mission! I was only supposed to check things out, which I did, and what do you know? I found something!" I explained. Keith didn't seem convinced.

"I'm sure Mr. Lamont would have understood that my wife needs help on a mission against the creeps who nearly destroyed Almia and brainwashed all the Pokémon a couple years back!" He cried.

"These weren't the same guys- and what do you mean I need help? Do you think I can't handle myself on a mission?" I shot back, slightly offended at Keith's implication.

"Th-That's not what I'm saying at all! And what do you mean by not the same guys?" he argued.

"Don't change the subject! It sure sounded like you were saying that! You should know I can take care of myself on a mission! I've done it before, and I can do so, still!" I retorted, defensively.

"Look, I know you can handle yourself, Kate! I just- You're the strongest Ranger I know, probably the strongest in Almia… But we used to go on missions together, and I liked being able to look out for you more. You've saved my life more than once, bailed me out of dangerous situations, and I like being able to do the same for you, sometimes. I can't help feeling like if I was there, maybe I could've gotten that net off you before they shocked you… That could've done a lot more damage than it did, and I'm glad you're okay. I just wish I could've protected you more," he finished calmly, as he continued treating my burns with the lotion.

I couldn't help but smile at that, and I turned around and kissed him. "I love you, and I appreciate the fact that you want to protect me, but as a Ranger, these things will happen sometimes, you know? Point is, I'm okay now," I said turning back around. "Besides, the guys I was facing were complete idiots, worse than the old ones," I pointed out, smirking slightly.

"Oh yeah, what did you mean when you said that they weren't the same guys?" he asked, still obviously curious about the new Team Dim Sun.

"Oh, right. It was weird; they didn't know who I was or anything. They thought I was a Rookie, but I was sure everyone in Almia knew who we were from all the news reports on Team Dim Sun, all the issues on the Almia Times and Operation Brighton. I mean, footage of the tower was all over the news, and I had so many interviews from reporters on what happened, everyone knew about it. These guys must be new recruits who weren't in the Team Dim Sun the last time, but I'm beginning to doubt that they're even from Almia at all…Either that, or they were living under a rock until now," I concluded, pondering other possibilities, but coming up with none.

Keith chuckled, "I like your rock theory best. Guess it isn't the most practical though, huh?" He asked sarcastically, as he closed the jar of burn lotion and got up to put it away.

"No, probably not," I said, pulling my shirt back on, "Or the most logical, but we've never really been big on practicality anyways" I remarked, as I heard Keith turning on the water, washing the lotion off his hands.

"In the Ranger business, practicality doesn't always matter in the long run," he called out. He was right, I mean, even thinking back to the giant Gigaremo units the Dim Sun Grunts used to haul around, they weren't exactly "practical". It took 4 full-grown men (or one Big Bertha) just to lift one of those units! And there were so many of them all over Almia! Also, whenever we captured the Pokémon that were controlled by the Miniremo, the entire machine would explode! That wasn't exactly practical either, there are a lot of aspects of our jobs that weren't the most practical, but we still handled it.

Keith walked over to his laptop, and began typing. "What're you doing?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Looking to see if I can find any news or information on the new Team Dim Sun," he replied, a focused expression on his face.

"Sweetie, if Team Dim Sun is back in action, and plotting some sinister plan, I really don't think they're going to post it on the internet. In fact, I think they might wanna keep that rather quiet," I said, in a teasing voice. Keith narrowed his eyes at me.

"I know _that, _but maybe citizens have posted something about the sightings, like Erma talked about," he replied matter-of-factly.

"But it's late. Come on, we can check tomorrow at the Union Headquarters, their computers have a lot more information than ours do anyways, and the researchers can gain access to even the most private of websites," I pointed out, trying to persuade him to bed with me.

"Mmm, one minute," he replied, already lost in his research. Luckily, I had the optimum persuasion tool at my disposal.

"Fine, _you_ stay out here, but _I'll _be in there," I started, pointing to the bedrooms. "It's been a really long day, and if you don't come in soon, I might just decide to get some sleep… early tonight," I finished with a mischievous grin.

Keith's head snapped up, and he grinned back at me, obviously understanding what I was implying. I walked down the hall and into the bedroom, feeling victorious and knowing he'd be joining me very shortly.

* * *

I spent the better part of the next morning on the computer, trying to see if I could find any current information on Team Dim Sun. Apparently, the Grunt from Boyeland opened up his own fishery, and a bunch of the other Grunts from before were now working with him, and providing a thriving food supply for the citizens of Boyeland. "Good for them," I thought to myself, happy to see the former evil-doers acting as productive members of society.

I had already e-mailed Isaac about the occurrence, and described the large machine, the black cloud that came out of it, the way it seemed to affect the Pokémon, and the glimpse I caught of… something around Espeon's neck. I wondered about what it could have been. It worried me; if Team Dim Sun had found something that Pokémon could wear that controlled their mind, it would be much harder to break the spell they were under. Rangers would have to find a way to get it off the Pokémon we were fighting without hurting them.

However what about the black fog the Pokémon from Volcano cave were surrounded in? What _was _that, and was that affecting them? Maybe I just broke the machine before it had finished; if the Pokémon were forced to somehow ingest that- whatever it was, perhaps by inhaling it, I don't even know _how_ we'd fix that! My head was whirling with ideas, anxieties, possibilities! But I'm getting ahead of myself; we haven't proven anything yet, so I can't draw any rash conclusions, right?

While waiting for Isaac's response, I decided to do some research on the infamous Sinis Trio. I remembered after the giant battle to calm Darkrai, Heath had come to face the consequences of what he had done, along with Wyatt (formerly known as Blake) Hall. However, he apologized to us Rangers for all our trouble, and was allowed to back to his homeland, but what about Lavana and Ice? I knew they ran away after they lost to me in Altru Tower, but it seems that no one has seen them since. "Could one of them be behind this?" I wondered.

"Whoa, don't think so hard, Kate. I think I can see your brain smoking!" Rhythmi giggled. I snapped out of my daze, and smiled at the blonde-haired girl I'd known for so long.

"Hey Rhythmi. I've been going crazy trying to find out more information about this new Team Dim Sun. Have you heard anything?" I asked.

She shook her head, "Not today. Things seem pretty quiet today. I'll keep a close watch though."

"I know you will, thanks Rhythmi," I said, gratefully. She smiled back at me good-naturedly, and went to go back to her desk. Just then, I received an instant message from Isaac.

_Dear Kate,_

_ Good to hear from you! I did some research on that machine you described, and can't give you a whole lot of information without seeing it for myself, but I looked up some information on the black fog. There's some interesting myth surrounding that, and an old folktale about it._

_It was said that thousands of years ago, there was a proud and greedy sorcerer who longed only for immortality. He cared only for himself, and no one else; human or Pokémon. He hid himself from society in the forest, and tried to create a spell to guarantee him eternal life. The only way he could ensure his own immortality was by taking life from another. He would set traps for Pokémon outside his home, capturing them with nets, or painful steel traps, and he would use his magic to drain their life force, and use their potential years to replenish his own. This went on for years, and finally, enraged by these acts, Arceus appeared to the man, and took his life force from him. He used it to replenish all the Pokemon that had their lives taken, and all that was left of the sorcerer was his spirit, which Arceus turned into a Haunter. _

_The man had won immortality, as he had wanted, but not eternal life. He became bitter and repulsed by his Pokémon form, so he hid himself away in the deepest, hidden chamber of the Hippowdon Temple, letting his bitterness and hatred grow. It is said that this Haunter is unbelievably powerful, and it lets off a black fog wherever it goes, and anyone, human or Pokémon, that inhales that fog instantly becomes violent and aggressive, for no reason at all._

_I'm not sure I believe folktales like that, but I do know that there have been stories about an unusually strong ghost Pokémon in that temple; who knows, maybe it could have something to do with that fog. I hope this helps, and I'll, of course, continue to look into it, and let you know what I find. Keep up all your hard work!_

_Your friend,_

_Isaac_

"Wow, what a strange legend," I thought to myself. What was really strange about it was how accurate that sounded to the fog that I had described. Could it possibly be true? What if there really was this vengeful spirit that Team Dim Sun had harnessed to negatively affect Pokémon, and cause such disruption? If this spread too far, Rangers friendship may not be enough to get through to these Pokemon! There would just be too many of them, too much hatred, and anger and aggression! And if Team Dim Sun held the key to controlling such a dark force-

"Voicemail! Voicemail!" Keith's voice rang out from my Styler. I pressed a few buttons, and opened his message. "Meet me at Cinders Café, I have to talk to you about something," was all the voicemail said. I couldn't help but wonder what it was about.

I asked Erma if I could take lunch, and once she confirmed it, I headed off to Pueltown. Keith must have some kind of big news. Cinders Café, in Pueltown, was where Keith had taken me for our first date, where he first told me he loved me, and where he proposed. We'd been there casually a lot too; the staff was like family to us at this point, but I couldn't help but feel knots in my stomach, like something big would take place again.

I thought back to our first date, smiling to myself. Keith was so cute and awkward, trying to be a gentleman. I let the memory fill my head as I walked:

"Um, I got you these," Keith stammered a little, holding out roses, his face a much brighter red than the flowers. Cliché? A little, but it was still an adorable gesture. Thanking him, I took the flowers, and put them in a vase before we headed off to Cinders. Even though it was a date, it wasn't suddenly awkward between us. We talked and laughed all the way there, like we always had.

When we got there, Keith held the door for me, and I looked around. Cinders had a warm, family feel to it. There were couches and tables where you could sit and relax, like a lounge, where some groups of friends sat, chatting and laughing, and there was a bar where they could order drinks, or small foods, like muffins, donuts, and other little pastries. There were also tables where waiters and waitresses would serve the customers there to dine. The orange walls were hung with famous Pokémon portraits, and beautiful Almia landscape paintings.

Keith also rushed to pull out my chair for me as we were escorted to our table. I couldn't help but laugh a little. "You know, you don't have to try so hard to impress me," I pointed out, teasingly.

"I know, but maybe I… want to. Kate, we've been friends for a long time, but this time I'm not here as your friend. I want it to be different… special, I guess," he said quietly.

"Well, you're doing a pretty amazing job," I assured him, and I could feel my face heating up, sure I was blushing. He smiled at me in a way I had never seen before. It wasn't his usual, goofy smile. This was different, and I couldn't help but feel captivated by his eyes. He has smiled at me that way so many times since then, but back then, it was completely new and it surprised me. It was strange how something simple as a change of context could change a person so much, but with Keith, I didn't mind.

After our little moment, we got back to talking just like we had on the way there. He had a way of making me laugh, and whenever he did, I could forget everything and just become immersed in the moment. No one had that effect on me; no one but Keith. After the date, he paid the check, gave me his coat for the walk home, and kissed me when he said goodnight to me at the door. He'd definitely made it a special night, and I knew right then I'd never be able to forget it.

I stood in front of Cinders now, as I had so many times before, and as I entered the café; Keith was already sitting at a table and waved me over. As I approached, he still got up and pulled out the chair for me. "Just like old times," I thought, smiling to myself and thanking him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked, my anxieties on the subject still nagging at me.

"Ah, right. So- You know, with this whole Team Dim Sun business- You remember how we were talking about this? Like, last night?" He was stammering. Keith only stammered like that when he was nervous about something.

"Yeah? What's going on?" I asked.

"Keith twisted his hands nervously, looking away from me. "See, Erma and professor Hastings came to talk to me at the Ranger School this morning. They looked over your report, and, you know how you were really curious about how the Grunts had no idea who you were? They contacted authorities from several different regions around the world and- Well they heard about suspicious activity taking place in Johto-" He began.

"That's great! We have a lead on where it might me coming from!" I commented, but Keith held up one hand, to keep me from interrupting.

"I'm not finished, Kate. See, they need someone to go there and investigate. They won't send you, because they need you here in case there are any more Team Dim Sun occurrences, and Sven and Wendy are already away on mission so-"

"Keith… You're not saying what I think you are… Are you?" I interrupted, as I felt my heart sinking. He couldn't be. I kept waiting for him to break into that goofy smile of his, and tell me he was joking, so I could smack him and tell him not to play such stupid pranks. Keith's face was serious, and his eyes sad, like a puppy who had been kicked. He didn't get this way very often, and as much as I wanted it to be a joke, I knew it was true.

"Kate… They're sending me to Johto."

**Aaaaand, of course, I end things on a cliffhanger! ;D It's always been my style. I really hope you guys liked the first 2 chapters of "****Revenge on Pokémon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun" cause I've really enjoyed writing it. I appreciate the 2 awesome reviews I got on chapter 1! Seriously guys, your reviews are what really keep me motivated to continue writing, and this fanfiction is what is helping me make it through exam season. Escaping into this story line is a wonderful release! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2, and I'll have chapter 3 up as soon as I can! Thanks for all your support!**

**Funngurl~**


	3. New Evidence and Heartfelt Goodbyes

**Hey guys! So, I've finished 3 of my 5 exams, meaning I can go back to working on this story even more! It's proving to be a great stress relief through the busy crunch of exam time. And once exams are over, I'll have even more time! ^^ I was really excited to get this chapter written, now that my plot is starting to take off a little. As you can probably tell, I'm a sucker for romance, so I have to give Keith and Kate kind of a subplot among the whole Team Dim Sun plot. I'll be going more into the past with Keith and Kate, and giving more backstory in chapters to come, so I hope you guys enjoy the flashbacks I include in the storyline. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games, and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

"Kate… They're sending me to Johto." He finished, that sad puppy look of his still invading his usually cheerful face.

"You're going to Johto… without me?" I asked, and Keith just nodded solemnly in response. I knew it was something he'd have to do, as a Ranger. If it had been me, I'd have had to do it, too. That fact didn't make things any easier though. "For…For how long?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly as I spoke, as I clutched a fistful of the blue tablecloth in my palm subtly, trying to keep my composure.

"I don't know. It could be a week; it could be a month… it could be a few months. It depends on what I find, and what happens back here," he explained, trying to sound confident and together about the whole thing, but I could tell it was bugging him, too. He didn't like this any more than I did. Keith and I hadn't been apart since we were married! As Top Rangers of Almia, we stayed together in Almia; we were even assigned missions together or now and then, or even just patrolling together! Knowing that I have to be here and that he has to be halfway around the world just makes my heart ache.

"When are you leaving?" I asked, hoping that we had at least a couple days together before he had to go. I had no such luck.

"Tomorrow evening. I'm being flown overnight, to stay inconspicuous. They don't want Team Dim Sun knowing that a ranger will be spying on them, if they are doing their planning over there," he explained. It made sense, but making sense didn't make it any easier to handle.

"Can we still keep in touch? I've never sent voicemails to someone in another region, I don't know if our Stylers can transmit signal that far," I admitted, releasing the tablecloth, and taking the Styler from my belt. Keith took out his as well.

"I'm not sure either; I'll ask Erma. Even if we can't, I can still call you at night. So you won't miss me too much," Keith joked, finally smiling that way that he always did. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Liar, you know I'll still miss you," I said, trying to keep a strong face, but feeling tears well up a little. I don't know why it was so hard to deal with this. It could very well be that he would be home by this time next week! But I couldn't help that sinking feeling that it wouldn't be that soon. Keith took my hand from across the table.

"I'll miss you, too. But it won't be too long. I'll be back before you know it," he assured comfortingly, and I smiled at his efforts.

Just then, both of our Stylers began beeping. "Voicemail! Voicemail!" Rhythmi's voice came from our Stylers. "Can you 2 report back to the Ranger Union immediately? Erma wants to see you about a new mission," the voicemail said.

"Well, shall we head back then?" I asked, getting up from my seat.

"Yeah," Keith answered, leaving a small tip at the table, even though we never got a chance to order anything before we were called back.

* * *

Back at the Union, Erma was waiting for us to arrive. She greeted us cheerfully, the way she always did. "Since Keith is leaving tomorrow, I want the 2 of you to go to Volcano Cave, and investigate the remainders of that machine Kate destroyed yesterday. See if you can find what was powering it, or what created that black fog you mentioned. Can I count on you?" She asked.

"Do you really need to ask?" Keith asked her jokingly.

"Of course you can. Have a little faith in us Erma, we're not rookies anymore," I responded, the older woman smiled at us.

"That's what I wanna hear. Kate, Keith, I leave the rest to you," she concluded confidently.

And off we went again, back to Volcano Cave, each on the back of a Staraptor. I had Chimchar, and Flygon with me again, and Keith had an Espeon in case we needed a quick escape and an Umbreon in case any of the larger pieces of the machine were blocking entrances in the cave, along with his partner, Buizel.

As we walked through the cave, a Flareon began following us around. He was a timid Flareon, and kept his distance for the most part, but nonetheless, if we were moving, he'd follow us. I couldn't help but think how cute he was.

"Up ahead, in that cove, is where the machine was," I said, pointing to the entrance. Keith nodded, and we both ran in. His eyes widened as he beheld the scene before him, the giant machine, torn to pieces, the tattered electrified net lying in scattered fragments on the cave floor, and the black sludge coating the pieces of the machine, and the area surrounding it. As we walked around, Flareon hid behind a stone pillar, peaking out at us. He sniffed the air, and scrunched up his nose at the odor of the cavern.

"Whoa… What a disaster," he muttered, taking everything in, looking around.

"Yeah, I didn't have much time to tidy up between getting out of the net, and chasing the Dim Sun Doofus' out of here," I remarked sarcastically, and Keith just raised an eyebrow.

"I meant the black sludge everywhere. What, did they trap a bunch of Grimer in here?" he asked, looking the mounds of the black substance all over the cave.

"No, Grimer is more of a purple-ish colour. And besides, I've only ever encountered one Muk in this cave, and he stays hidden in the back area. But it is weird, I mean, that wasn't there when I left yesterday," I said, using the scan function on my Styler to gain information on the stuff. I waited, but all that came back was "Unknown substance."

"Even the Styler doesn't know what it is… That's so weird…" I said, puzzled. The Styler's scan function was updated frequently by Isaac; there was never anything that it couldn't identify… Until now, that is.

"Kate! Come here!" Keith cried from the other side of where the machine was. "Look at these!" He cried, kneeling down to look at something on the ground in front of him. I ran over to check it out. On the ground in front of him were small black orbs, the size of marbles.

"Hey… I think that was what I saw around that other Espeon's neck before it teleported out with the Dim Sun Doofus'!" I cried out, picking one up.

"Is that what we're referring to them as from now on?" Keith asked jokingly.

"You know it," I responded with a grin, then held a dark ball up to the light that shone through the small hole in the top of the cavern, to inspect it. It had a strange luminous quality to it. In the light, the orb seemed to glow, but it was almost a dark glow, if that made any sense, almost as if it was surrounded by a thin, dark aura or something. As I removed it from the sunlight, it returned to its original state. "Did you see that weird… light around it?" I asked Keith.

"If you can even call it light… It was definitely weird," He admitted, and I nodded at him, and scanned it with my Styler, which sent back another "Unknown substance" reading. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of orange sniffing around. Flareon had emerged and was sniffing at the sludge on the ground. "Flareon, don't!-" I cried, but it was too late.

Flareon licked a small amount of the black sludge and immediately, its eyes turned black and it snarled at me, just as aggressive as the Pokémon affected by the black fog. It must've had some kind of connection between the 2.

"Whoa! Look at its eyes!" Keith cried, pointing at the Flareon.

"I know! This is what happened to the Pokémon yesterday too! It must have something to do with the black fog!" I concluded, getting my Styler ready, but Keith put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll capture the Flareon; you send the scan results to Isaac, since they're on your Styler, not mine. It'll save time," he said, his own Styler in hand. I nodded, and stepped behind him as the Flareon attacked, the previously timid Pokémon growling viciously at Keith. As Keith began encircling the Flareon, I snapped a quick picture of it, being sure to get the black eyes in the shot, as well as some of the sludge littered upon the floor of the cave.

I set up an brief e-mail to Isaac, explaining what happened to the Flareon, and included both scan results, and the picture. As I pressed send, Keith had already finished his capture. The Flareon blinked, his eyes returned to their normal colour, and he laid on the floor of the cave, and whimpered, his ears dropping.

"Keith, take Espeon and Flareon, and make sure Flareon gets immediate attention at a Pokemon Center, make sure he isn't sick or anything. I'll start finding ways to block off this area for Pokemon until we've figured out a way to clean all this up, okay?" I suggested. Keith agreed, and teleported out of the cave, and I began picking up pieces of scrap metal, with Flygon's help, to block off the cavern entrances.

Keith teleported back into the cave within the next hour, Espeon by his side. "Wow, nice job blocking this place off. Flareon seems fine now, no internal injuries or anything, and he's back where we found him," Keith declared, grinning.

"That's great! I'm glad he's okay… Now we just need to find a way to clean all of this!" I cried, a little overwhelmed by the mess.

"Oh, Erma told me that she'll send a bunch of local rangers to clean the rest of this up. She wants us back at the Union. She still needs to debrief me on my Mission in Johto, and you can continue the research you were working on before lunch, okay?" Keith said, and took my hand.

"Okay, well that's a relief!" I exclaimed, stretching and lacing my fingers through his, as I had done so many times before. "C'mon guys, we're leaving now!" I cried to the other Pokémon that had been helping me out. They all came over to Keith and I as we teleported out of Volcano Cave together.

* * *

"Isn't Sven so cool?" Rhythmi asked dreamily, watching a video of Sven and Wendy on their mission. "They sent us a video of their progress, looks like they've been working hard," she gushed.

"That's great Rhythmi, but what about your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about me?" Isaac asked, entering the room. He always got a bit jealous when Rhythmi gushed about Sven like that, but she never looked at anyone the same way she looked at Isaac either, not even Sven. It was like whenever she saw him, her eyes would just light up, and he looked at her that way too. I think it's what made them such a great couple; they were never quite as happy as they were when they're in each other's prescence.

"Isaac!" Rhythmi cried, and she jumped up to greet him. "You didn't tell me you'd be in today!" she exclaimed, kissing him.

"After reading the e-mail Kate sent me, I had to come in to do some extra research, so I got clearance from Erma to take leave from Altru while I work for the Union. They don't mind, they'll do almost anything the Union asks them to. I didn't tell you cause I thought I'd surprise my girl. I didn't think you'd be going on about Sven again though," commented Isaac, pouting slightly.

Rhythmi just laughed, "Aww. you know I love you, babe," she remarked, looping her arms around his neck. He smiled and pulled her close around the waist.

"Yeah, I know-"

"Okay, if you 2 are done all your cutesy couple stuff, Isaac and I have some research to do," I teased.

Rhythmi stuck her tongue out at my comment. "Romance killer!" she retorted.

"Like you're one to talk, whenever you're with Keith, you 2 are always all lovey-dovey. 'Oh Keith, I love you' 'No Kate, I love you more!'" Isaac teased back, mocking our voices as Rhythmi giggled at his antics.

"Oh shut up!" I shot back, blushing, then shook my head smiling. "Well, _I'm_ getting back to work. _You _can join me when you're ready," I smiled and left the room. This is why we were still such good friends, we knew just how to push each other's buttons, and had a good time doing it. But I knew that they would always be there for me the second I needed them.

Going back to the research room, I found all my research notes, webpages and documents still sat, undisturbed. I sat down, pulled out my Styler, and uploaded all the documents from the cave onto the computer, then put the Styler back in its holster.

* * *

Keith was still working once I got home, so I made dinner this time. Once he finally arrived home, looking tired and hungry, I had dinner out and ready for him. While we ate, he explained his Johto mission.

"So basically, I'm going there secretly. Only a handful of Ranger officials know who I am. They don't have many Ranger bases there because there are mostly Pokémon trainers in that area, but there are still a few scattered around the region. Anyways, they reported seeing suspicious activity around this Mountain called Mount Silver. There are a lot of really strong Pokémon there, and it's pretty dangerous, so not many people go there, making it the perfect place to hold secret meetings. I'm basically going to be going undercover as one of those Dim Sun Grunts, and find out what's going on. See, they don't know that we know that they're in Johto, so I'll be hiding out there, and sending all my data to the Union officials, who will send it back here," he told me, as we finished eating.

"So you're basically pretending to be one of them?" I asked, with a look of disgust on my face.

"For the good of the mission, yes!" Keith protested, reading and responding to my expression.

"So… You'll have to wear one of those tacky Dim Sun Uniforms?"

Keith sweatdropped at that, dropping his head. "_Of course_ that's what you're thinking about. Yes, I will have to wear a uniform. But it's okay, I'm devilishly handsome, so I'll make it work!" he said in his joking voice, yet he sounded pretty determined. I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hey! Why are you laughing? What, you don't believe me? After all, it's why you married me!" Keith teased, which made me laugh larder.

"Yeah, okay, we'll go with that, Sweetie," I said between my giggles. Keith raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm hurt, really!" cried Keith, mock offended.

"Well then I'll have to make up for it, won't I?" I purred, as we exchanged knowing looks. He took my hand from across the table.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, so tonight is going to be all about us, okay? I don't care what we do, I just want to spend as much time with you as I can," he said, sincerely. I nodded in agreement. I had almost forgotten about the fact that he was leaving for who-knows-how-long tomorrow. Keith has effect on me. Whenever I'm upset by anything, he can make me forget about it for a while. Then again, that's what made me miss him so much while he was away.

I knew how irrational it was that I was so upset; I mean, he could only be gone a week or two! But the fact that it could last longer made it harder. I knew it wouldn't take Keith long to find out something about them; he's a very skilled Ranger, and he's especially good at being discreet. Well, when he needs to be anyways. He has the ability to get along with just about anyone – even people he'd really rather not get along with.

That night was all about us, we did the dishes together (even though it was technically my turn), we watched a movie together, cuddling the entire time and after that, he put a tape in the CD player, and asked me to dance with him. It had been so long since we'd actually danced together, but swaying to the music, holding onto the man I love just felt so natural, so… right… I never wanted the moment to end.

Once it got late, we took it to things to the bedroom, and we made time to enjoy each other, and fell asleep in each other's arms. Again, all that I could think about was how I wished this night would never end. As I drifted to sleep however, it did end. Time ran away on me, and before I knew it, I was up, and getting ready for work, and Keith was preparing a suitcase.

The day went by in a blur. I worked with a frazzled Isaac, who was racking his brain, examining the scan results, and trying to figure out what the substances were. He requested samples from the Rangers in Boyeland, who were cleaning the rest, and I told him I'd pick up the samples for him after lunch. Until then, he was buried in his research, trying to find something – anything to work with.

Keith surprised me at lunchtime, and we went to Cinders again, but we actually got to order something this time. I offered to treat, but he didn't let me. He rarely ever let me treat him, to be honest. We enjoyed ourselves, as usual, and after lunch, he had more trip preparations to attend to at home, while I flew off to Boyeland to get the samples for Isaac. When I arrived there, however, they only had one sample.

"Thanks you guys, but I told you, we wanted those little black orbs that were on the ground, too," I said, showing them the picture.

"Uh, sorry Ranger, but we didn't see anything like that when we cleaned," a local Ranger admitted, sheepishly, and seemed intimidated by my rank.

"That's impossible; there were lots of them all over the floor!" I exclaimed, confused on how they could have possibly missed them, but the Ranger shook his head again, apologizing. I went back to check out the cavern, which was impeccably cleaned, but they were right, the black orbs weren't there. But, if they didn't pick them up when they cleaned the cave, then… Who did?

When I got back to the Union I gave Isaac the sample, which he rushed to the lab immediately. He seemed disappointed that the black orbs mysteriously disappeared, but the unidentifiable black sludge seemed to keep him very busy for the next couple of days. He spent hours poring over microscopes, trying the pull apart the chemical makeup of the sludge, and its origin.

That night, however, Keith was getting ready to leave, and I had to say my goodbyes to him.

"I'll miss you," I muttered, buried in his embrace, trying to contain my tears, but failing.

"I know, Love. I'll miss you, too. But like I said, I'll be home before you know it, we'll dismantle Team Dim Sun again, and this will be behind us," he said, reassuringly. I looked up into his eyes, and smiled at him, through my tears. He smiled back and kissed me passionately, and I enjoyed it for as long as I could.

"Stay safe, okay?" I said, wiping my eyes on my arm. He laughed lightly.

"Sweetheart, who do you think you're talking to? I _am_ a Pokémon Ranger you know," he said triumphantly, in that teasing tone I was so accustomed to.

"One of the best," I laughed, "Stay safe anyways."

We said our final goodbyes, and Keith boarded the private jet that was taking him thousands of miles away from me. Once the jet took off, I watched it getting smaller and smaller, until it was gone.

As if on cue, as soon as the jet disappeared, I got a voicemail from Rhythmi, who was obviously working late. "I know it's late, but we need you right away, Kate! It's an emergency, get down here ASAP!" She cried. As soon as the voicemail ended, I found a Staraptor and headed back to the Union as quickly as I could. Something big was going down, and I was ready to handle it.

I ran into the large front doors of the Union, and up the stairs where Erma was waiting. "Hey Erma, what's the emergency?"

"Kate, I'm glad you're here… Team Dim Sun has been spotted by a fisherman going into in Marine Cave, in Puel Sea. I don't know what they're up to, but I need you to find out," the old woman explained, worry clear on her face.

"I'm on it!" I said, confidently, and ran out of the building. Seeing a Doduo nearby, I captured it, and raced off towards Pueltown on its back. Whatever was waiting there for me, I was ready for.

**So, there you have it! Chapter 3 is finally complete! I know, it's pretty sad that Keith had to leave, but Kate has her work cut out for her with Team Dim Sun back on the move again. So, have I made you curious with the little clues I've laid out so far? Hope you're enjoying this, R&amp;R, and I'll get chapter 4 up as soon as I can! ^^**

**Funngurl~**


	4. Maybe Legends Aren't All Myths

**Hey all! Funngurl here for chapter 4! So, just as a recap (spoiler alert, if you haven't read chapter 3, go do that now :P) Keith just left for Johto, Isaac is immersed in his studies on the unidentifiable black sludge sample from the cavern, and Kate is off to Marine Cave in Puel Sea due to the Dim Sun sighting! (I forgot that there is also a Marine Cave on Nabiki Beach… Just to clarify, not the same place xD) So I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter of "Revenge on Pokémon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun", if you do, please R&amp;R! (I feel like a YouTuber reminding my viewers to subscribe at the end of every video XD)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

It was a cool evening out on the Puel Sea; the sun was just out on the horizon. On my way to Pueltown, I'd captured a Staraptor (as usual), a Growlithe, and my Misdreavus joined me from the partner farm. Since it was getting dark, I'd still be able to see, since she seemed to glow with a ghostly light.

I wished I could say that I knew what Team Dim Sun was planning, like I used to be able to, but I couldn't. This time, I had no idea what they were trying to do. The sea breeze whipped through my hair as the small speed boat whipped through the waves. As we reached the cave, I tipped the boat driver as thanks, and told him not to wait for me, since Staraptor would fly me back.

In the cave I could hear faint murmurs deeper in the cave. "Okay everyone," I said to the Pokémon, "You all need to be quiet, got it? If they hear us, it could mean big trouble, okay?"

The Pokémon nodded, understanding my command. "Misdreavus, we gotta find the Dim Sun Doofus' so lead the way," I whispered, and Misdreavus floated ahead of me. I followed her silently as I possibly could, my Pokémon following close behind me.

The murmurs got louder as we progressed, until we came to a ridge, which overlooked a lower area of the cave. Misdreavus led me right to the edge, and vanished from sight. I laid down on my stomach, and watched discreetly.

There were several Team Dim Sun Grunts below. There was a giant glass orb that was strung with a long rope that had numerous spell tags attached to it every couple of centimeters. The orb itself was filled with the black fog I'd seen before, and it was sitting on a platform with wheels. Many of Grunts were just sitting by it, like they were waiting for something, or maybe someone.

Suddenly, another grunt came running up. "Hey boss, we got one!" he yelled, dragging a struggling Golbat bound by ropes behind him.

"Geez took you long enough!" one of the Grunts complained. Wait, maybe he wasn't a Grunt. The other Grunt addressed him as boss and his uniform did look slightly different. Maybe he was an admin of some kind. The Admin took the Golbat who still struggled, and when a Grunt pressed a button, the top of the orb opened up, and the Admin shoved the Golbat inside.

What I saw next made me feel my heart stop. The fog slowly faded and I saw the Golbat with another Pokemon inside! It looked like an… unusually large Haunter. I recalled the legend Isaac mentioned in his e-mail, about the greedy, cruel sorcerer-turned-Haunter. But that was just a legend, wasn't it?

The Haunter smiled maliciously, and neared the Golbat, suddenly it began emitting fog again, so I couldn't see anything, and when the fog cleared, the Golbat was gone, and all that remained was a tiny black orb. The Admin laughed. "Excellent!" he cried, pressing a button. The black orb was dispensed out of Haunter's glass bubble, like a gumball from a gumball machine, as the glass orb filled with that vile fog once again. The Admin tossed it into a tiny brown pouch, closed by a drawstring. "By the end of the night, we'll have so many soul orbs, our Leaders will be impressed, and promote me for sure, for all my hard work!" The Admin exclaimed.

"Hard work? Boss, we're the ones doing all the work, you're just sitting there…" the Grunt who had captured the Golbat said sheepishly.

"What did you say to me?" the Admin roared.

"Ah- nothing! Nothing!" The Grunt added quickly.

I had to get down there! If my hunch was correct, they had just killed an innocent Pokémon, to get one of those orbs! "Stop!" I cried, as I jumped down from the ledge, my Pokémon following me down. "How dare you sacrifice innocent Pokemon! You'll pay for this!"

"Hey! It's one of those Rangers!" One of the Grunts exclaimed.

"Damn! How'd she find us?" Another asked.

The Admin just laughed. "Oh, we'll 'pay', will we? Cause I respectfully disagree, silly Ranger," he said, turning a knob on a tank connected to the back of the orb. Black fog spewed out, and I covered my nose. I reached into my bag quickly and grabbed the oxygen mask I used for underwater excursions. It had enough oxygen to last me while I beat these creeps, but they were already making their exit. "Sorry to cut our visit short, Ranger! We're _very_ busy!" cried the Admin, laughing as they ran.

I began to chase them, but was suddenly pushed to the ground. I cried out as I felt a stabbing pain in my arm. It was my Staraptor attacking me! I looked up at it, and saw its eyes were completely black… All my Pokémon had black eyes… They had breathed in the fog! They were all growling at me, and each other. Growlithe was trying to attack Misdreavus who taunted him, vanishing and reappearing. I wriggled away from Staraptor and grabbed my Stylus. I'd have to fight them all, and capture them again.

I began circling them all as quickly as I could, feeling just slightly betrayed, but knowing they were not at fault. I captured Growlithe first, then Staraptor, and finally, my elusive Misdreavus. As soon as I had captured them, they all snapped back, looking at each other, then at me, guilt in their eyes.

"Glad to have you back guys," I said, and as I turned around to try to catch those Dim Sun Creeps again, I came face-to-face with a cave full of black-eyed, angry and aggressive Pokémon, ready to attack me. My Pokémon immediately came to my defense, taking their place protectively in front of me, ready to help me.

"Let's do this," I said confidently. As if on cue, all the Pokémon began attacking, and I began circling. The capture took hours, whenever I captured a group of Pokémon, more came charging at me. My Pokémon helped with their Poké Assists, but my Styler still took a beating: A Confuse Ray from a Golbat, a Rock Throw from a Geodude, an Acid from a Croagunk etc.

As I fought, I noticed that the fog was beginning to fade away, leaving more black sludge behind, like the stuff we had from the lab. Once I had finally released all the Pokémon from the control of the black fog, it was early morning. On my way out of the cave however, I found a small brown pouch, like the one the admin put the soul orb into. Sure enough, I opened the bag, and found it filled with the small black orbs; I finally got a sample for Isaac. I trudged out of the cave, exhausted and weak, and I flew back to the Union on my Staraptor.

"Kate!" Rhythmi called out, as I got up the stairs, "Are you okay? You were gone all night! We were worried about you!"

"I'm okay… They got away… I'm sorry…" Was all I could get out, as I felt myself swaying a bit.

"Kate, you look absolutely exhausted! Come, sit down, we'll get Erma to come down here this time," she said, sitting me down, which admittedly felt great.

I waited as Rhythmi scampered up the stairs. While waiting, Isaac came in, and smiled at me. "Hey Kate, way to stay strong last night. You were after Team Dim Sun all night, right? You're a trooper," Isaac complimented.

"Not exactly… Team Dim Sun was gone pretty fast, but their minions weren't…" I admitted, still feeling guilty that they escaped me again. "But, I saw a lot of information for you. The black fog was what turned into that black sludge, like Keith and I originally thought. But what's even weirder was… They had a Haunter that was kept in a glass orb, protected by a ton of spell tags! It was emitting the black fog, and when they put a Golbat in there… within seconds, the Golbat was gone," I said, as I reached into the pouch, and delicately pulled out one of the soul orbs, holding it between my thumb and pointer finger. "And all that was left in it's place, was one of these," I finished, looking at the ground.

"Kate… You're not implying what I think you are… Are you?" He asked, with a look of disbelief.

"Isaac, it's the only thing that makes any sense right now! It all seems to add up to this legend! Besides, they called these 'soul orbs', what else could that be implying?" I asked, too drained to stand and argue my point.

"They could be trying to make us believe in the legend to hide their true plan! There must be a logical explanation; maybe you just can't see it. I mean, you must be tired-"

"Oh, yeah? Then what is it Mr. Know-It-All, what's your superior explanation to all of this?" I asked, in an agitated voice.

"Uh… Well I don't have one as of yet, I mean-" he began, seeming a little nervous.

"Oh, don't you? Then don't criticise _my_ logic until you have a reasonable explanation of your own," I snapped, glaring, and Isaac backed off. I loved Isaac like a brother, but when I was tired and irritable, he really knew how to push my buttons. I wasn't sure how Rhythmi could stand him all the time. "Here," I said, handing him the brown pouch, "You can study these." He took them without question.

Just then, Rhythmi came back down with Erma. "Hey Sweetie!" She chirped to Isaac, giving him a quick kiss. He seemed to relax from that, and the 2 of them chatted while I told Erma what happened in the Marine Cave.

"I'm sorry I let them get away," I finished, looking down at my hands, still feeling guilty about it. If I had just dropped down sooner, before they killed that Golbat, I'd have saved it's life, and possibly kept them from escaping.

"Don't apologize, child. It's not your fault; there were many of them, and one of you. Unfortunately, they got away, but we still have a Ranger at Mt. Silver gathering inside information for us, and we're conducting our own research here," Erma assured me. "Now, get some sleep in one of our chambers. You're in no shape to go home, we won't wake you unless absolutely necessary. Oh, and give me your Styler," she said.

I handed her the beaten up Styler, and went to the chamber, as Erma went to have my Styler recharged and fixed up a little from the beating it took. Before going to bed, I quickly logged on to one of the computers in the chamber. There was an e-mail from Keith, recived only an hour ago. I opened it quickly and read the short message.

_Dear Kate,_

_I'm here in Johto now. I got here safely, and I'm starting my mission soon. I love you, and miss you already._

_All my love,_

_Keith_

There was an attachment to the photo, so I clicked it. It was a picture of Keith, with that goofy smile of his, wearing a Team Dim Sun uniform. "Damn," I muttered to myself, "That boy does make evil look good…"

I signed off, and collapsed into the bed. It wasn't long before I was asleep.

* * *

I woke up later in the afternoon, and went to the research room. Isaac seemed to tense up when I walked into the room.

"Hey Kate… So… You feeling better?" Isaac asked, still looking slightly nervous due to my outburst earlier. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm fine, don't worry. So did you find anything about the black sludge or the soul orbs?" I asked him.

"Nothing on the orbs yet. But the sludge seems to have toxicity to it, which is strange, since the Flareon who ingested it had no internal issues, which it should have. Also, I have not discovered any chemical properties that would allow this sludge to become of any kind of vapour, like the fog you described," he explained, shuffling through pages upon pages of notes and research.

"Isaac, it's definitely the fog. I saw it change while battling! Which reminds me, we'll need someone to clean up that Marine Cave," I thought that last part aloud.

Isaac held his hands up defensively, "I'm not saying I don't believe you or anything! It just… doesn't make sense yet. And I'm pretty sure Erma had the cave evacuated and cleaned once you got back, by Pueltown Rangers, and Boyeland Rangers."

"Okay. Any word from Keith yet? He e-mailed me this morning saying he was about to begin his mission," I mentioned, looking through Isaac's complex study notes.

"Not yet, but give the man a break. He just got there this morning, he still needs to fit in with the others," Isaac scolded. "Besides, any communication will go through our operators first," he added, and I just nodded in reply.

By the end of the day, Isaac and I had figured out more about the properties of the sludge that made it even more unbelievable. One thing was that it had similar properties to the Pokémon, Gengar, greatly amplified, as if Gengar had evolved, even though Gengar can't evolve. The legend Isaac sent me _did_ say the sorcerer was an embittered Haunter that was thousands of years old. It would likely be pretty strong by now, so it does kind of make sense. Isaac wouldn't believe anyone who didn't have solid evidence though.

That didn't matter to me, I'd do my own research, see if I could find any more about that haunting legend that lined up surprisingly well with what was going on. It sounds crazy, but it seemed very possible that the legend was actually true. But I wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet; I had a lot of work to do!

**And thus ends Chapter 4! Hope you guys enjoyed it; let me know what you thought! Your feedback really does mean the world to me! :) Thanks to all of you who reviewed already, I really enjoyed reading them, it's great motivation for me ^_^ Anyways, I'll have Chapter 5 out as soon as I can, so enjoy! **


	5. Reminiscing on the Past

**Hey everyone! So I was going to include this in the last chapter, but I realized that would make it incredibly long (and my chapters are already really long!) so I split it up into 2 smaller chapters. So the chapter was already halfway finished when I'd started, hence why I finished it so soon! Anyways, because the fanfiction started 6 years after the end of the game, I thought I'd give some more explanation through some flashbacks! I hope you guys like the flashbacks, they're mostly used for romantic little fluff scenes, and to build up more foundation for the relationship.**

**If there's one thing I've learned as an author, nothing is less believable than writing a couple that's just **_**too**_** perfect, and has no past or foundation for their relationship. There has to be some tension between them, and some memories. They'll argue sometimes, they'll disagree, they'll worry about each other, but when push comes to shove, they still love each other, and can count on one another. So, tell me how I do, since this is my first attempt at writing a couple with such emotional depth, and constructive criticism is always welcome! I'm done ranting now XD Please R&amp;R ^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Ranger, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo. (I think we all get the idea, I don't own the game, just the story ideas in my head :P)**

* * *

I trudged home, after work that day, and when I got into the empty apartment, I felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. I didn't want to be constantly thinking of Keith like this, but he was always there to greet me. Or if not, I knew he'd be home soon after me. It was weird not seeing him there, and not expecting him to just show up.

After having dinner, taking a bubble bath, and watching a movie that Keith would _never _watch with me (there were some perks to having the place to myself!), I went to bed. I couldn't seem to fall asleep, however. It was partially because I missed Keith, but mostly because of the all-nighter I pulled the night before, and the fact that I spent the entire morning and a good portion of the afternoon sleeping at the Union.

As I lay in bed, my mind began wandering, and my eyes drifted to the picture of Keith and I, hanging on the wall. It was taken after Operation Brighton. It was before we were together, both of us looking tired from the long night we'd been through, both relieved that we'd won. It reminded me of the last time I'd felt this lonely without Keith. After Operation Brighton… that was when Keith had disappeared for a while. For lack of anything better to do, I began playing the memory through in my head.

* * *

"Hey, where's Keith?" I asked Rhythmi, as I walked into The Union's Operator room.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since the picnic yesterday. He was unusually quiet. Oh, but he said something about some "unfinished business" he had to take care of. Did you try texting his Styler? Or sending a voicemail?" she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen in front of her.

"I didn't think I'd have to," I mumbled, taking out my Styler, and writing him a text asking about his whereabouts. He responded almost immediately

_I'm going away for a while; I have some things to take care of. Can't keep contact past this point. _

_Take care,_

_Keith_

"What the hell?" I said aloud, and sent him a voicemail, demanding an explanation! But when I tried to send it, but I got a notification saying: _Styler out of range; your voicemail could not be sent_. I tried again, with a text message, but again got a notification saying: _Styler out of range; your text message could not be sent._ Where in the world could he have disappeared to in a matter of minutes?

"Rhythmi…" I stared, finally letting it sink in. She stopped obsessing over Sven momentarily, and looked over at me, as I just stared at the notification on my Styler screen. "I think Keith is really gone…" I finished, unsure of what to make of it.

"What? What do you mean gone?" She asked.

"I mean, I can't reach him…" I said simply. I had no idea then how right I was.

A day went by. Then another day, followed by a week. A month. Two months. In Keith's absence, I realized how much I cared about him, and how much I missed him. I was worried about where he was, why no one had heard from him, what these "things" were that he had to take care of, and why the hell he couldn't have let us know about it!

I realized that I really loved Keith… He was always upbeat and happy. He could make me laugh all the time, because he was always _so_ crazy, but he could also be really sincere. He was strong, with a spirit as fiery as his fiery red hair. He stood his ground and knew what was right, but he also knew how to let things go.

I missed his insight; we'd stay up all hours of the night sometimes, just talking about anything and everything, and having deep, meaningful conversations. I missed his intelligence; together, there was nothing that we couldn't solve. I missed his quirky sense of humor; no one could make me laugh quite like Keith could. I missed his smile… What could I say? It was his best feature.

I wondered if he missed me, if he ever thought about me when I was thinking about him. I wondered if he thought about me as much as I thought about him. Would I ever see him again?

As the months passed, I thought about him a little less each day. Until he came back.

"Hey, Kate! Long time, no see, huh?" Keith cried out as I walked into the room. I jumped so high, I must've hit the ceiling. Keith was not who I expected to see.

"Oh my God, Keith! Where the hell have you been? It's been 8 months! What the hell was that all about!?" I asked, angry, confused, and overcome with surprise all at the same time.

"I was visiting my family in Fiore. After Operation Brighton, I really wanted to see them. I had a new appreciation for life, and I hadn't seen them since I was transferred here, so I thought I'd visit them for a while," he said, grinning.

"You idiot! Why couldn't you have told us! I was constantly wondering where you were," I exclaimed, coming to terms with his inadequate explanation.

"Thinking about me that much, were ya?" He asked, looking proud of himself, in that joking way Keith always did. It was somehow different to me. He looked more… handsome. I'd never noticed it before… Maybe he hadn't changed, maybe it was me who changed.

"I guess," I said, and I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks, so I just looked at the ground.

"Hey, what's up? Your face looks red," He said, crouching down to get a better look at my face.

"S-Shut up! It's not!" I said turning away.

"It is too!" he countered, laughing and running around to look again.

"It's not!" I pushed him away.

"It is!" he grabbed my arms, and moved in close, still laughing at my resistance.

"You're an idiot!" I struggled to get away.

"And you're blushing about something!" he held tight.

"Keith, let go!" I pulled back, and he lost balance. We both toppled to the ground, he landed overtop of me. He wasn't laughing anymore. I leaned up, propped up on my arms, but I couldn't get up because of our position.

"Woah, Kate, I'm so sorry, I…"

He was still over top of me, still talking, but his words faded away as I noticed how close his face was to mine. My face heated up even more as I blushed a deeper shade of red, and at this proximity, there was no way I could deny it. I looked at Keith, who wasn't talking anymore. Call me crazy but it seemed like he was blushing too!

I looked into his eyes, and he stared back into mine, neither of us moving, neither of us uttering a word, just the steady sounds of our breathing. I could feel his breath brushing my cheek. The few seconds felt like eternities, and I felt my eyes wander down to his lips. I couldn't help it anymore. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his.

I felt Keith tense up immediately, in shock from my actions, but after just a moment, he relaxed, and I could've sworn I felt him kissing me back. When he broke away, my eyes fluttered open, and his face was now a shade of red that surpassed mine, by far. Or maybe we were the same shade, since I'm sure I was blushing even more than before as well.

"Kate," he started, but couldn't seem to finish that sentence. He seemed at a loss for words. I owed him some kind of explanation. I decided I'd tell him how I felt. Lay it all on the table.

"Sorry, ah- I just… Lately I- since you left I mean- I've been thinking about you a lot…" I trailed off. Keith didn't interrupt me, or cut in while I gathered up my courage. He just stared at me dumbfounded. I took a deep breath. "I can do this!" I thought to myself. "Look, Keith…I really…I really like you!" I cried, squeezing my eyes shut to give myself the confidence to actually say it. "I guess… I could even say… I love you," I uttered out, looking away.

I waited for rejection. I waited for acceptance. I waited for _something_. But nothing happened. It was as if time had frozen when I kissed Keith, neither of us moving, and him stuck in a stunned silence, trying to process the turn of events. I'd never seen him so flustered, and confused looking. Maybe telling him wasn't a good idea after all…

"Keith," I said finally, which seemed to break him out of his trance.

"Uh, Kate… I- I didn't know you… were into me, like that," he began, as he sat back and ran one hand through his hair. "I'm flattered…" he trailed off. _Flattered? _I just poured my soul to Keith, and he's _flattered? _Idiot! This was a bad idea! He continued, "But… I don't think of you like that. You're my best friend, and we're partners, but… I don't like you THAT way, I'm sorry, I-"

"I'm joking!" I blurted out, stopping him in his tracks.

"Eh… What?" he stuttered, confused.

"Of course, I'm joking! It was a joke!" I laughed. "I had you fooled though, huh? You should've seen your face!" I lied. I knew I was dealing with Keith's rejection in the most immature way possible, but I could not listen to another second of this awkward as hell speech of his! I get that he wasn't into me, but did he have to go on and on about why? I shouldn't have told him… Shouldn't have kissed him… I just couldn't help myself, after not seeing him for so long, thinking about him so long. I was a fool for ever thinking he might like me…

"That was… a joke?" he asked, dumbfounded for the second time now.

"Yeah! I got you, huh? You really thought I liked you? I mean… Like you said, we're friends… just partners," I felt my voice falter a little, shocked that Keith actually bought that, and my eyes began to fill with tears. "Hey, I gotta go! Important mission I've been assigned, so… I'll uh… See you later yeah?" I finished, turning away so he wouldn't notice my teary eyes.

"Kate, wait-" he began, but I interrupted.

"Welcome back, Keith," and with that, I walked out. As soon as I was in the hall, I ran. Ran as far and as fast as I could. Out the Union doors, through the trails, past the people who would greet me whenever I passed. I had no idea where I was going, just that I didn't want to be found. I made it to the very top of Peril Cliffs, and once I got there, I cried.

Every inhibition I had about telling Keith was gone, and replaced by undying shame, and a piercing regret. What was I thinking? And playing it off as a joke? How could we even stay friends anymore? Maybe it would always be awkward from now on… Maybe I'd lost a best friend… And it was my own fault.

I didn't see Keith for the next couple weeks. He was around, going on missions, helping out at the Ranger school, but we didn't cross paths like we used to, we didn't have those long conversations I loved so much anymore. He never called me, or even texted me. Keith was avoiding me. Could I blame him? I tried to pick myself up and move on, but I still felt this undying sense of loss. I didn't just like Keith, I really fell for him, and even if we couldn't have been more than friends, I could have handled that, I just wanted to be around him. How could I fix this? Was it even possible at this point?

One day, in the reference room, I was relaxing after completing a long quest. A bunch of Miltank got loose from the constantly expanding Miltank farm in Vientown, and I had to go capture them all, and bring them home. There were only 4 of them, but it still took a lot of time to find them for Big Bertha and Little Tim.

No one else was around for a change, and we had redecorated the place a bit to be more of a break room, including a bookshelf, some magazines and beanbag chairs. I don't know why we thought beanbag chairs were cooler than regular chairs… Anyways, I sat in a Politoed-shaped beanbag chair with a book and a cup of tea next to me on the low coffee table. Suddenly as I was enjoying the silence Keith walked in.

We looked at each other, and quickly looked away again. "Hey," I started, trying to sound normal, but knowing I was likely failing. "What's up?" I asked, I was trying to be nonchalant, but I was never able to act a certain way when I was trying to, I would always try too hard and instead come off as weird. "I must be overreacting," I thought to myself, "I've said 3 words to him so far, how could I have possibly messed them up?"

"Kate, I've been looking for you. I really wanted to talk to you," Keith started, walking over and sitting in front of me. Oh geez, this must be about my confession, right? I knew he didn't really buy that whole joke thing! "Play it cool," I said to myself, "Don't be weird about it, remember, nonchalant". My mouth, however, ran ahead of me, and any notion of being nonchalant was immediately out the window. I wished I could stop and actually think about what I was saying, but once I had started, I couldn't stop if I wanted to.

"Look, if it's about that _confession_, I'm sorry, that was a really stupid thing to do, I admit it! I know that you don't think of me like that, and I can live with that, but I don't want our friendship to end because of it!"

"Kate-"

"You've been one of my best friends for almost 2 years now, Keith. I don't want to lose you over saying something stupid one time."

"Kate, it-"

"I'll keep this to myself from now on, but stop avoiding me!" I could feel tears welling in my eyes again, and I knew this time I couldn't stop them, I just kept talking. "I hate that I've barely seen you since you got back, I don't want things to be weird between us."

"Just-"

"If you don't want to be with me, that's fine, I can handle that! I wasn't really expecting you to return my feelings, or anything like that. Things can go back to the way they were, if you just-" my breath caught, my eyes widened, and I sat there stunned. It was Keith's turn to interrupt me, and he did so by leaning forward, and gently pressing his lips against mine.

I knew I should've pushed him away, asked him why he was toying with me like that… But I couldn't. All I could do was lose myself in the moment. I felt his hand cup my face, and I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck. After a minute, he broke away, and we sat there in silence for a moment, breathing heavily.

"Why?" I managed to utter out.

"I know I told you that I didn't think of you that way… and I thought I didn't but… Ever since you kissed me, I haven't been able to _stop_ thinking of you, at all… I was avoiding you because I wasn't sure how to face you after everything that happened once I got back. I'm sorry I was being an idiot," he said, taking my hand.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Keith actually did have feelings for me? "You really are an idiot," I said, as I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I know, I know," he laughed. "So? Should we give this a shot? Do you want to go out on an actual date?"

I knelt up and hugged him. "Yeah," I muttered.

"Hey, you're blushing again!" Keith teased once I let go.

"Shut up!" I scolded, looking away again. "Besides, how did you know where I was?" I asked.

"Rhythmi told me. I've been talking to her about things, since she's a girl. She told me your whole joke thing was just a cover-up," he explained.

"You really needed to ask? I'm pretty sure I wasn't that convincing," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You women are confusing! You say one thing, and mean another. I didn't you really said that as a joke either, but I thought it was best to be sure, before I went telling you I was into you, only to find out you really were joking," he said, sweatdropping.

"Idiot," I muttered again, smiling to myself, feeling grateful that Rhythmi had sort of played matchmaker for Keith and I.

* * *

"Idiot," I muttered to myself, as I recalled the memory lying in bed. But that was Keith. He was like that then, and he was still like that now. He wouldn't always understand his own feelings right away, he needed time to think about it, and evaluate it, but once he figured it out, he was always sincere. He wasn't quick to tell me he loved me either, but once he did, I believed it.

I curled up tighter, pulling the covers around me. It was already 2AM; I tended to lose myself reminiscing sometimes. I remembered telling Rhythmi about Keith and I as well, she was so excited that we were together, and thought it was "about time", claiming that she saw it coming. I was always able to talk to her about it, and once she and Isaac began dating, she'd talk to me about her relationship as well. That's one of the things I loved about her. I closed my eyes, just going over memories in my mind, and soon enough, I fell asleep.

**Aaaaaaaaand that's my flashback chapter! Hope you liked it! If not, no worries, next chapter will go back to the actual storyline. As I said, I just really wanted to give Kate and Keith some backstory. So, now that I'm onto my very last exam, I'll probably have the next chapter out sometime next week! Until then, have an awesome weekend, and I'll see you next chapter! ^^**


	6. Trouble at Hippowdon Temple

**My exams are finally finished! So, I'm back for the summer! Hopefully I'll get some more time to work on updates, since the story's just beginning to get much more intense! And, we get to see where Kate's little sister is, now! I don't think the game ever named her, I think she was just "Little Sis" so I'm calling her Mimi. It always seemed to fit her, in my opinion. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the 6****th**** chapter of "Revenge of Pokémon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun!" Thank you to all my readers who have been following from the beginning, I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Ranger, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

It had been 3 weeks since Keith left for Johto, and already, he'd given us loads of information on Team Dim Sun, their secrets, materials, and plans. He still couldn't figure out who the mysterious Leader was. The Grunts who knew anything were slim to none. There were rumors that it was a seven foot tall man with green hair, but that seemed very unlikely. Still, it was documented in our base as a possibility.

Keith couldn't call me every night like he had planned, since he was staying in a Team Dim Sun base and the lines were always tapped, but he'd sneak away now and then, and sent texts through his Styler to the Ranger base in Johto, and they uploaded them to e-mail and sent them that way. They would also screenshot my replies and send them to Keith as image files. We only got to talk once every couple days, but that was okay with me. After being without him the first couple days, being independent again came more easily.

I got to hear his voice whenever he sent video files that he recorded secretly. He got along with the Dim Sun members surprisingly well, and mentioned in his e-mails to me that a lot of them were good people who didn't know they were doing something overly evil. All the Dim Sun unit was doing at Mount Silver was researching a lot of Pokémon, and preparing for an Almia "business trip to research new and exotic Pokémon". They didn't mention anything about a legend, or soul orbs, or black fog.

The closest thing Keith got for evidence was a conversation he overheard and recorded while sneaking around one night. It was a couple admins talking. It was hard to hear what they were saying, but they were saying something about an "attack plan" and that if things at Mt. Silver went off without a hitch, that the bosses would promote them. How they would rule the world for real this time, even the Rangers would be at their mercy.

"Like hell we will!" Wendy cried when she heard the recording. "Just who do they think they are?" she fumed.

"Now, now, let's not be rash!" scolded Professor Hastings who was now helping us with our research. He had initially been on mission with Sven and Wendy, and they recently returned and dedicated all their energy to bringing down the new Team Dim Sun once and for all. There had been a couple Dim Sun sightings since, usually Sven and I would tackle them together, but usually the grunts were just manufacturing more machines with large tanks of black fog. We'd usually scare them away, and we'd take the black fog tanks back to the Union.

We even captured one of the Grunts. His Croconaw wasn't wearing a soul orb, it had swallowed it! The Grunt admitted that this was their new way of controlling Pokémon from the inside. We had to sedate the poor thing, rush it to an urgent care Pokémon Centre, and extract the orb surgically. The orbs that we weren't studying in research were locked away by Erma so they could not be accessed again, or stolen back.

That day, I was in the lab, trying to find more information on that Haunter Legend, while Isaac studied the soul orbs with frustration. With Professor Hastings helping him out, he was a little more calm, but even Professor Hastings was stumped.

"It's official" said Isaac, bursting out of the back room. "It can't be broken. We've tried knives, saws, drills, lasers; we can't even make a scratch on these orbs! They're hard as diamonds! Maybe harder! I don't understand it! They won't burn, break, or melt! I don't understand what these things are made of, and we can't break them down to find out! There's no scientific explanation!" he cried out, more flustered than I've ever seen him.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Rhythmi said gently, rubbing his shoulders gently, from behind. "You'll figure this out, I know you will. Come on, take a little break, organize your thoughts, and then get back to work. If you don't stop, you'll just drive yourself insane," she said, soothingly. Isaac just nodded and followed her out of the room for a breather.

I took the opportunity of Isaac's absence to scour the internet a bit more, scrolling through pages and pages of search engine findings, sadly to no avail. Finally, after a while of more bored scrolling, I found a promising page called, "Legends of Almia". I clicked the link and was brought to a plain black webpage with "Legends of Almia" spelled out in Unown. I started scrolling through the legends. Legends about Ditto being failed attempts at cloning Mew, legends about tunnels running under Almia, and finally, I found it. The legend Isaac had sent me.

This website had a much more defined legend however, with more in-depth information. I couldn't look away from the screen, as I tried to make connections between the legend and what was going on.

_One thousand, three hundred years ago, there was a greedy sorcerer named Arid._

I scanned ahead a little; Isaac's story already told me this part. I knew that this "Arid" trapped Pokémon, and killed them with his magic, using their life force for his own life, seeking immortality. Hey, wait a second… this part wasn't in Isaac's version of the legend.

_Whenever Arid had drained a Pokémon's life force, their body would disappear and all they would remain of the Pokémon was a small black orb._

Just like the soul orbs! This couldn't just be a coincidence, whether it was scientifically possible or not! I read on:

_This black orb had an aura of darkness surrounding it, and is thought to be the embittered soul of the sorcerer's victim. He kept these orbs as trophies of each Pokémon life he stole. As his collection grew, however, he became more cruel and violent towards his victims. It seems the Pokémon's pent up anger and hatred that was contained within the soul orbs affected his own emotional state, making his treatment of victims even more brutal. He no longer killed them simply for their life force, he found enjoyment in torturing them first, making each soul more angry and bitter than the last. Once he had collected one thousand souls-_

"Big Sister!" cried a small voice, and I heard myself involuntarily squeak as I was pushed off my chair by a flying hug.

"Mimi! What are you doing here?" I asked my sister, who had her arms around me.

"I wanted to see you! You never come home anymore, so Mom and Dad said I could come visit you!" she said, proudly.

"You came by yourself? Mimi, you shouldn't be travelling alone, you know," I scolded. Mimi pouted in response.

"I'm not a baby anymore, Kate! I'm almost 14! And guess what? I got early acceptance to Ranger School next term! I'm gonna be a Top Ranger, just like you!" she cried gleefully, thrusting her fist into the air, determination clear on her face.

I couldn't believe it – My baby sister was going to Ranger School! "Way to go, Mimi!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her, "I'm so proud of you!" People in the research room with us couldn't help but smile, and a couple of them congratulated her.

"The new Rookies just graduated, so the school is on Hiatus until the new term, but once it starts up, I'm gonna be a student. Dad's really proud of me, but Mom's fussing over her last child leaving home and everything. I told them I could visit them all the time, but you know how Mom gets," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. I knew _exactly_ what she meant.

"You're still moving 2 towns away, sis. Obviously, she's going to miss you," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I'll miss them both, too. But this is an amazing opportunity! I'll get to explore Almia! I've been doing some exploration already, well in the places that don't have too many wild Pokémon. I've got a partner, too! Well, sorta. I can't keep him as my partner _yet_, cause I'm not a Ranger, like you, but there's a Growlithe I met in Pueltown, and he follows me around everywhere! Dad lets him sleep in the Partner Farm and I feed him and play with him. He's like a pet, for now, but once I become a real Ranger, I just know he'll be my partner!" Mimi explained, excitedly. "I told him to wait outside for me. I didn't want him to disturb your research or get into any trouble in here," she added.

"That's great, Mimi. I'll try to come home more often, but with Team Dim Sun up to no good again, it's hard to get away right now. Keith's still in Johto, undercover," I told her. Technically we weren't supposed to tell anyone outside the Union about his mission, but everyone knew my sister so well from her e-mails, visits, video chats, and phone calls that they pretty much considered her a part of the family as much as I did.

"Still? But Sis… When are you gonna tell him?" she asked, in a quiet voice.

"Shh, Mimi, we're still not sure about that. I'm not going to jump to conclusions just yet. And don't say anything to Mom and Dad yet either. Now, why don't you go any play with your friend Growlithe outside? I still have a lot of research to do, okay?" I said, trying to get back to work.

She nodded, said her goodbyes to everyone, and scurried out of the building. I knew I could trust Mimi with my secrets, just like she trusted me with hers. After all, what are sisters for? It would just be a little longer-

Okay! Focus! Back to work! I turned back towards the computer screen scanning the section I had just read before I was tackled to the ground. Just as I was getting back to where I left off…

"Kate! Mission time!" Rhythmi cried, running in. "There's a Team Dim Sun appearance an it's something big! You and Sven gotta go! Wendy's following you guys from afar, secretly. She'll intervene if needed," she explained. I sighed, and bookmarked the page.

"Got it, I'm on my way," I said, leaving the Research Room. Team Dim Sun had a habit of showing up at the worst possible times for me. I was finally getting somewhere with my research…

* * *

A little while later, Sven and I flew off. "Where are we headed?" I called out to him, trying to be heard over the wind rushing by our ears, each on our own Staraptor.

"We're going to Hippowdon Temple!" He answered, giving me a confident grin.

"What are they doing there?" I called back, remembering that the Haunter from the legend was supposedly hidden away in that Temple.

"I dunno, but there are some pretty strong Pokémon there. They're probably trying to gain control of them. They could be trying to get Hippowdon! Whatever they're doing, we're putting a stop to it!" He answered. We raced through the clouds, and swiftly landed in front of the Hippowdon Temple.

I had Sneasel, Poliwrath, and Magmar with me, just in case I needed some Pokémon backup.

"Come on!" I cried, "Let's go check the sand pit first! That's where Hippowdon usually is! You guys, stay back here, I'll call you if we need you okay?" The Pokémon nodded, and we ran over to the sand pit, only to be blasted in the face by sand from the edge. We both cried out, and turned away rubbing our eyes.

"Geez! They _must_ be down there, Hippowdon is throwing a fit!" Sven commented.

"Here," I said, handing him a pair of goggles that I had pulled out from my bag when I had finished wiping the sand from my eyes, and I secured my own pair as well. "These will help," I finished.

"Good thinking, rookie," Sven teased. That was kind of our thing, he'd tease me by calling me a rookie, and I'd tease him about being a womanizer.

"A _real_ top ranger always comes prepared, pretty boy," I shot back.

He grinned. "Touché" he replied, and with that, we went in.

The wind was strong and almost painful as it whipped sand against our faces, arms and legs. Still we went further, and still it got stronger. Finally, we found Hippowdon, which had 2 scared-looking Dim Sun Grunts backed against the wall of the sand pit.

"L-Look!" one of the Grunts cried to the other, "Rangers! They can save us! You'll save us, right Rangers!?" He sounded completely desperate and helpless. I knew what we had to do.

"Come on," I rolled my eyes, and took out my Styler, "Let's help these idiots," I finished, and set my Styler's Capture On, as Sven followed suit. We began encircling the great Hippowdon, but he kept angrily breaking out of our loops and charging towards us, the strong sandstorm raging around him.

"There's no way we can calm him down if he keeps charging like that! Poliwrath! We need you!" I cried behind me, as I continued trying to circle the inconsolable Hippowdon.

Poliwrath rolled in, tucked into a tight ball to protect his own eyes from the sound. As he uncurled, he shot large bubbles at the Hippowdon. Hippowdon continued raging on, until Poliwrath shot a large bubble that completely encased the Hippowdon and he kept it still.

"Woah! Thanks Poliwrath! That was great!" I said, as Sven and I continuing circling Hippowdon. Poliwrath nodded and scampered off. Once the bubble had popped, Hippowdon had calmed down considerably, and the sandstorm subsided. It walked off, and the Grunts that were cowering on the ground before got up.

"Thanks Rangers! We'll be going now!" said one of the Grunts sarcastically.

"You're not going anywhere!" I cried.

"Yeah, you're coming with us, cowards!" Sven added.

"Is that so? Well I'm afraid our new Pokémon fail to agree. Golem! Take care of these pesky Rangers for us!" he cried, and the 2 ran into the Temple as 4 large Golem rolled up around us, ready to attack. Their eyes were pitch black.

"They're getting away!" I cried. "Sven, get Wendy and go after them! I'll handle the Golem!" I decided.

"Kate, there are 4 of them! You can't possibly round up four Golem all on your own!" Sven cried.

"Yes I can, I'm a Top Ranger, Sven. You can't let those Dim Sun creeps get away with more Pokémon! Go!" I cried and began my capture.

Sven nodded, and yelled behind him, "Staraptor! Arcanine! You 2 help Kate! Politoed, Crobat, you 2 come with me!" Sven ran into the Temple, as Sven's Pokémon as well as my Magmar and Sneasel came to my aid.

It took a while to take down all the enormous Golem, but by the time I had captured them, Sven and Wendy were leaving the Temple with a group of Grunts. The Golem were not befriended, however, by my capture. They were still acting aggressively, and they still had black eyes. They must have ingested those soul orbs, like the Croconaw.

"Come on! We need to go back to the Union!" Sven said.

"Just a minute! Hippowdon! Keep these Golem here until we can get help!" I cried. Hippowdon nodded, cornered the Golem into a cave in the sand pit, and pushed a large boulder in front of it. "Thanks Hippowdon!" I cried, and it gave a roar in return.

* * *

We headed back to the Union, the Grunts in tow. We had Barlow, Crawford, and some newer Vientown Rangers waiting to take them off our hands, as we went up to see Erma. I checked my e-mail through my Styler while we waited for her. I had one from "Johto Ranger Association". That was Keith! I opened the e-mail.

_Dear Kate,_

_I think I might have figured out who is running Team Dim Sun. I'm not sure yet, so I can't tell you since I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction, but I can tell you that we can't afford underestimate what it is we're up against this time. This may be an even harder battle than Operation Brighton. Be prepared, and stay safe, Love. I miss you._

_Love,_

_Keith_

I closed the e-mail. Even Keith was beginning to worry about this mission. I knew that at this point, it was critical that we kept our guard up at all times, for Almia! I still couldn't help but smile, knowing that Keith was missing me as much as I missed him. Hopefully this would all be over soon, and he'd be back home with me.

"Rangers, good work in rounding up Team Dim Sun. I got your messages about the Golem, and we have some Haruba Desert Rangers and Pokemon Centre Officials taking care of it. You are to stay here in the Union, in case we find any more Team Dim Sun sightings," she explained.

We nodded and turned to leave. "Kate, there's something I need to talk to you about before you go," Erma added, sounding disheartened. I turned back around to face her.

"What is it Erma? Is everything okay?" I asked. I could tell from the older woman's expression that everything likely wasn't okay.

"Kate… there was an incident in Johto and… Keith's gone missing."

* * *

**And that's where I'm ending it! Cliffhangers always were kind of my thing. Hope no one hates me yet, for all the feels! XD The fanfiction's not over yet, though! There's still plenty more to come, so I hope you all keep reading, and let me know what you think! :D Thanks for all the support so far!**


	7. A Time to Mourn

**Aaaaaaaand I've returned for Chapter 7! Wow, can't believe I've actually written 7 chapters of this already. I've really enjoyed it, though! This is, by far, the longest fanfiction I've ever written, and probably one of the best since I've had years of practice ;) Anyways, a big thank you to my readers for your continued support, and I'm sorry I left the last chapter on such a sad note! Hope you guys continue reading, cause this where it's getting intense. Took 7 chapters to set that up xD I do warn you guys, this is a pretty hardcore feels chapter XD I felt emotionally exhausted after writing it, but it'll be worth it in the end. Anyways, enjoy, and please R&amp;R :)**

**P.S. Sorry about all the re-posting I've been doing, but for some reason, I'll upload a chapter, leave for a bit, come back and it'll be gone so I'll have to repost. I apologize if anyone's getting a bunch of notifications about it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Ranger, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

"What is it Erma? Is everything okay?" I asked. I could tell from the older woman's expression that everything likely wasn't okay.

"Kate… there was an incident in Johto and… Keith's gone missing." She said solemnly.

I felt my heart stop. That wasn't possible… I JUST got an e-mail from him. "But…" I started, but couldn't find words to finish the sentence. With trembling hands, I took out my Styler, and opened the e-mail I had just read minutes before.

"Received at: 8:32 AM," read the e-mail information space before Keith's message. So… He hadn't e-mailed me since much earlier today… But that didn't _mean_ anything! It was still today! He couldn't just disappear that fast…_could he?_

"Erma, I got an e-mail from him today" I said, turning my Styler around to show her. "It-It was today, so… he must be okay- It was earlier today," I said with a desperate smile, hoping that my evidence would somehow make her reconsider her statement, tell me that their must've been a mistake. Erma, however, just continued giving me the solemn look that made my heart sink deeper and deeper, and the glimmer of hope that I clung to fade faster and faster.

She finally shook her head slowly, "The incident took place only an hour ago, and we were immediately notified. The cave they were hidden away in, in Mt. Silver, was attacked. It seems a group of the researchers disturbed a Steelix, and it chased them deep into the cave, back to Dim Sun's main base… Keith was secretly on call with them, giving a verbal report when this occurred. He hid hos Styler when he heard others approaching, but left it on so that Ranger Base could hear what was going on. It seems that when the Steelix was attacking, they lost signal of him. It's likely that due to Steelix's rage, the cave collapsed. Johto Rangers have gone to search for him, but they haven't heard from him yet," she explained, her tone serious, but still holding a note of sympathy.

"Erma..." I started, my voice becoming thick, almost "heavy" in a sense, the way it does when you're about to cry. I wouldn't break though, not here, not now. I continued, "Are you telling me… That my husband is dead in some collapsed cave in Johto?" I asked, feeling a sense of panic rising in chest and surging through my body as I began to comprehend the possible reality of what she was saying.

"Let's not be hasty, Kate. Just because they've lost signal of Keith does not mean he's dead. That is the worst case scenario, and it is, of course, a possibility. There is still a good chance Keith is alive, and if the cave did collapse, perhaps he lost signal. All we know is that currently, Keith has been reported missing," Erma finished.

I didn't know how to react. I wanted to break down and cry, but at the same time, I didn't want to. I couldn't, not here, not now. A part of me wanted to fly right out to Johto and find him, but I knew that I was needed here, and I may not be able to handle what I could find there. I just stood there, unable to find words to say, staring at my feet in a daze. It was all becoming too real, and I didn't want to believe it.

"Kate, are you alright? You can take the afternoon off if you'd like. We'll only call you in if there are any more serious incidents involving Team Dim Sun," Erma offered gently.

"No. I have work to do. I'll be in research," I said simply, and left the room.

That day, I immersed myself in my work. And the day after that. And the day after that. Day in, and day out, I focused on only my research, only on Team Dim Sun, and how I could stop them. I had this illusion that if they were stopped, Keith would reappear and come back home. I didn't allow myself to really think about him though. I knew if I did, would break me. I couldn't afford that right now, I had to remain focused.

I hadn't been home since I'd heard the news. The Union had all the facilities I needed, and the last place I wanted to be was a place where I was reminded of Keith. When I needed sleep, they had bedrooms in the Union, and most of the time, I'd fall asleep while working. Co-workers began hearing the news and trying to give me sympathy, or at least sympathetic glances as they passed me, but I didn't want sympathy, I wanted to work on stopping Team Dim Sun.

Days turned into weeks, and I still kept busy as ever. I had been getting sick a lot lately. Rhythmi was concerned about my well-being, convinced that I was making myself sick from the stress of it all, and the constant focus on work over my well-being, but I was sure that wasn't it. I had to work hard at stopping Team Dim Sun, but not just for me. There were others depending on me, other lives at risk besides mine. The future generations could be affected if Team Dim Sun succeeded in controlling Pokémon and making them aggressive as we had experienced. I would never be able to look at a child with clear conscience knowing that I could have made a difference; knowing that I could have done more, and perhaps stopped the terrible future from becoming a reality.

In my research, I found out that Arceus intervened after the sorcerer, Arid, had stolen the lives of a thousand Pokémon. This made me think; would Arceus come to stop Team Dim Sun, too? And what if Team Dim Sun knew this Legend, too? What if they were trying to summon Arceus, to capture it? This was the kind of thing I'd usually ask Keith…

* * *

"Kate, Erma wants to see you upstairs," Rhythmi said, poking her head into the research room. It had been 3 weeks since Keith's disappearance, and the more time that passed, the more tense I became. I needed to hear something, anything about him at this point. No one can just disappear like that, can they?

"Is it… About Keith?" I asked, swallowing hard, my anxiety rising.

"Sweetie… I don't know," she admitted, sympathetically. I was very accustomed to that tone. Even Isaac had stopped criticising my research on the Haunter legend that seemed to be coming true. I knew he wasn't any more convinced, his personality a mix of intelligence, logic and stubbornness, however, he was trying not to cause me any more grief and kept his comments to himself.

"Erma, you called?" I said upon entering the room. It was about Keith, I could tell by her expression. And it wasn't good news. Erma set a box down on the table, that rattled with it's contents upon her movements. I walked over to the box. It was filled with broken bits and pieces of something. There were frayed wires, red painted exterior pieces. It looked almost like a…

"They've found the remains of Keith's Styler in the rubble. He's still missing but… If he's still in that cave somewhere, it's nearly impossible for him to be alive, and the state of the cave now is too unstable to continue search. He's been pronounced dead. I'm sorry, Kate," Erma said, solemnly.

"I need… to be alone," I said after a moment. Erma didn't protest; she understood that I had to deal with this in my own way. As soon as I got out of the Union building, I ran, I ran as quickly as I could, and when I reached a wall of rugged stone, I climbed, and climbed, until I reached the top of Peril Cliffs. I didn't even realize where I was until I was looking down at Almia, spanned out below me. This was the same place I ran to when Keith had rejected me years ago. I curled up into a ball. I still didn't cry, I didn't know what to do, or feel. All I knew for sure was that I felt like my heart had been separated from my body… and was now probably buried in some collapsed cave in Johto…

We held a wake in Keith's honour at the Union. Candles were lit, tears shed, and memories of Keith discussed at great length, with sad smiles and teary eyes. Everyone was mumbling about how strong I was, since I still hadn't yet cried. I kept myself numb to the pain so far. I felt like I did that, I wouldn't have to face the pain of losing him. It was too heart-wrenchingly painful to deal with right now. But it would get easier over time, and I could deal with it then… Right?

News was beginning to get around about Keith, and it started creating a buzz around Almia. He was a hero, everyone knew him, and loved him. It was hard not to love Keith, it was impossible for me; he was so cheerful, and fun to be around. He had the kind of presence that put people at ease. Everyone felt safe around him, part of what made him such a good Ranger; what made him the best Top Ranger I knew.

"Kate… Are you okay?" Rhythmi asked me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I answered tensely. That wasn't even near true, but if I started elaborating on my true feelings, I'd break down here in the middle of the Union, and get those sympathetic looks from everyone, have everyone's pity again. I didn't want that, I just needed to be strong a little while longer.

"You don't need to be so strong all the time, you know," Rhythmi said, as if she had read my mind. She had always been surprisingly good at doing that. "You can let yourself be vulnerable," she said.

"I'm dealing with it, okay Rhythmi? I'm just… dealing in my own way," I explained, not even able to look her in the eyes. I felt her arms wrap around me, and envelope me in a hug.

"I'm here if you need anything," she said.

"I know," I answered with a weak smile.

* * *

"C'mon Wendy, hurry up!" Sven cried behind him, as he came rushing through the halls. I stopped him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, confused by his rush.

"Team Dim Sun sighting," he said, looking away from me.

"And I wasn't invited… Why?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"We wanted to give you some time to yourself, to mourn,since-" he started, but I didn't want to hear it.

"You guys have to stop tiptoeing around me! Since he went missing, everyone's been treating me like some unstable mental patient. Giving me weird looks, trying to make sure I don't get upset, giving me those stupid phrases, 'Well, keep your chin up', 'It'll be okay in the end', 'Better days ahead'. None of that helps me, and it's demeaning! I'm still just as much a Ranger as you, and I can still take on the same Missions as before Keith went missing!" I vented, just as Wendy ran in behind him.

"Are you sure? I mean, we just had the wake, we thought you might just want some time-" Wendy jumped in.

"To mourn, I know, but this is my job as much as it is yours, and I can still do my job! I'm going with you," I said, sternly. The two exchanged a look, and then nodded at me simultaneously, understanding my desire to help with the mission.

We all headed off, this time to the Vien Forest, to a hidden cove where Salamence was resting. Of course Team Dim Sun would try to catch Salamence. When we got to the front of the cave, we found a group of Team Dim Sun Grunts setting up their materials for capture, a bag of Soul Orbs handy.

Upon seeing the lot, I was filled with white hot rage. What happened next, I only bore witness to. I didn't have control over myself any longer, as soon as I saw those uniforms, and registering the Soul Orbs, I rushed the Admin of the group against the wall as hard as I could, slamming all of my weight onto him. The other Grunts stood in stunned silence.

"So what, you're here to brainwash another Pokémon, huh? When are you going to give up this stupid plot of yours! You can't win as long as Rangers are around!" I yelled.

"Kate!" Sven cried, as he and Wendy began rushing over, but I paid no mind.

"People like _you_ are the reason that my husband is dead! It's because of you! And your whole damned group! You don't care about anyone but yourself, do you!" I cried, hysterically. The Grunts began trying to pull me off, but I swung out, hitting many of them, before attacking the Admin again.

"Lady- I don't know anything about your husband!" The Admin cried helplessly, "If you don't quiet down, you'll wake up Salamence, and then we're all screwed!" he finished, but I wasn't listening. I still felt intense, uncontainable rage surging through my very being. There was no stopping it now.

"It's all your fault! All of you!" I cried, punching the Admin in the stomach, causing him to buckle over, the Grunts were at me again, but again I shook them off with ease, and continued my rampage. "You hurt people! You hurt Pokémon! None of you deserve Pokémon! None of you deserve to be saved from the disaster _you _are creating!" I cried out, before slamming the Admin into the cave wall once more.

A deep roar rang out, and that was all it took to snap me out of my rage. Sven and Wendy finally caught up, but stopped in their tracks as Salamence stomped out of his cave, angrily. I knew I should have taken out my Styler, and usually I would have, but somehow, the rage I had come down from now left me paralyzed in fear. The last thing I saw was Salamence readying itself to attack, then it all went black.

* * *

"Hey there, She-Hulk," a familiar voice said. "I heard you had a total freak out on some Dim Sun Rookies, huh?" it teased. That voice was unmistakable, Keith!

My eyes snapped open, and I was standing next to Keith. It had been so long since I'd heard his voice, or seen his face up close. I immediately rushed into him, throwing my arms around him, and sobbing. Feeling the held back tears finally escaping, and the comfort I so desperately needed finally wrapped around me like a blanket, as he closed his arms tightly around me.

I sobbed there, like a child, for a long time, and he just ran his fingers through my hair. "I-I… I-I thought y-you were d-d-dea-ead… Th-They told me…" I stammered, unable to finish a simple sentence.

"I know, baby. I know," murmured Keith, still comforting me.

"H-How are you… I mean… A-And ho-ow did you know about… e-earlier? A-Am I d-dead, too?" I asked, trying to catch my breath as thousands of questions whirred through my mind.

"Easy, I'm a figment of your imagination," he said, and tapped my forehead lightly. "You're still very much alive, my dear."

"Wait, so… Th-This isn't real?" I asked, slowly calming from my breakdown.

"Afraid not, Love. But I guess you needed me, so your mind's making up for it. I'm telling you what you need to hear," he explained, still holding me tight.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked, my voice still thick with tears.

"You need to let me go. I know you're trying to pretend you're not feeling it, because you think if you don't seem like you hurt, it won't be true, and I'll still be there," he said.

"That's not it-"

"Kate, I'm your mind, you can't lie to me. You need to let yourself hurt, let yourself mourn for a bit, then move on with your life. You're still young and you have a lot of great people behind you. They won't leave you behind, but you have to let them help you," he explained. He was right; I knew that deep down. Of course I did, it was technically my own mind telling me this, but it still felt like Keith to me.

"But… I don't want you to go," I said, as my tears began flowing again, and I clutched the front of his shirt tightly.

"I know, but do you think the real me would want you to suffer like this? I'd want you to move on and you know it. I'm proof that you know it," he said, that teasing note in his voice that always made me smile. It worked; I smiled.

"I love you," I mumbled into his chest.

"I love you, too," Keith said, as he tilted my chin up gently and kissed me.

* * *

My eyes fluttered open – for real this time – and I found myself lying in a cot back at Union Headquarters. Sven, Wendy and Rhythmi were all standing by my bedside. No one said anything for a moment, and the incident in Vien Forest came flooding back to my mind.

"Hey… I'm sorry about earlier…" I muttered, sitting up. "Was anyone hurt?" I asked.

"Not as badly as you!" Sven cried, "You were hyper beamed by a Salamence!"

I looked down; I was burned pretty badly. I hadn't even noticed.

"None of the Dim Sun Grunts were hurt, they're scared as hell of you, though. You were the only one who took the direct hit from Salamence. You're lucky it didn't use its full power, or it would have killed you. Some of the Grunts actually helped us get you back here in time to get medical attention," Wendy said.

"Wait, _they _helped _me?_" I asked, dumbstruck by the concept of receiving help from the enemies that I had just had a violent outburst at.

"Yeah, I think they felt kind of guilty about letting you die. They just made us swear not to tell any of their superiors that they helped save you," she explained.

"But you're not coming back to work for a while. You _need _to take some time to come to terms with the bad news about Keith. We're all taking it hard, and we're all here for you, but we can't have you going off like that during important missions. We need you to keep a level head, like you always have, and it might be a while before you can do that," Sven said, in a serious tone.

"I know, I'm sorry," I said, looking down at my charred hands, that were sitting on my lap on the bed.

"Don't worry about it, just get well soon, kid," Sven teased lightly, as he ruffled my hair. With that, he and Wendy left the room, and Rhythmi and I were left in silence.

"Hey, Rhythmi, I-" I was cut off by the blond girl throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. It really hurt my burns but right now, I didn't care.

"Don't you ever do something that reckless ever again!" She yelled, and it was obvious she was crying now, too. "I already lost Keith, and I almost lost you, too! You guys are my best friends! How do you expect me to deal with losing you both in the same day!?" she sobbed, and I wrapped my arms around her as well.

"I'm sorry," was all I could manage before I was in tears, too. Rhythmi must have noticed that this was the first time I had actually cried since Keith went missing, and she released me from the hug, but still kept one arm around me.

"It's okay for you to be sad, you know? Keeping it inside until it bursts out of you like that isn't healthy, and that mission could've ended so much worse than it did. You almost died, Kate. You're lucky," she said, and I continued to cry. I couldn't stop anymore, and I had to pace my words to manage speaking coherently.

"I know, but it hurts so much more than anything… Than these injuries, or… Or anything I've ever felt. I'm never going to see my husband again! I'm never going to see Keith again, or hear his voice, and whenever I even let myself think about it, I can feel my heart breaking all over again! Because all I can think about is Keith and that he's gone forever! There was so much we wanted to do with our lives! So much we wanted to be! And now, it's only me… I just… I just want Keith back!" I cried, and broke down once again.

Rhythmi just rubbed my back comfortingly and let me cry about it. She was the only person who really understood me, even if she hadn't experienced what I had. She wouldn't pull out cliché's like "I know how you feel" or "Well, look on the bright side". She knew how much I was hurting, and all she wanted to do was comfort me during that hurt. I didn't deserve her kindness, due to the way I'd been treating her. Brushing her off like I had everyone else, making her worry about me, nearly killing myself and neglecting my own well-being. Despite all that, she was still here, right now, when I needed her most. I couldn't have asked for a better friend.

Once I had finished crying, she helped me into a wheelchair, and pushed me to the window. "I thought you'd want to see this," she said, and when I looked out the window, I was amazed at what I saw. In the darkness, thousands upon thousands of little lights, crowded around the headquarters, and going as far back as I could see. They were citizens of Almia, and they were holding candles, in honour of Keith's memory.

"They built a shrine for him, too," Rhythmi said, gently. "Everyone loved Keith, and people are here from all over Almia to pay respects. Even some people from Fiore managed to get here. You're not alone, Kate. Everyone standing out there is right behind you, and all of us at the Union are, too. We're not going anywhere."

And upon hearing that, I was finally able to smile again, because I really believed it. I wasn't alone.

* * *

**So, this was the first chapter that ever had me (literally) in tears while writing it! All the heart-wrenching feels! Please don't hate me for killing off Keith! It's part of the story, but I promise the storyline will get better! I hope you guys still like it so far. I'm still really enjoying writing this. I've been busy, but I always find time to sit down and write at least a little more, for my amazing fans. Hope you liked this chapter; I put **_**a lot**_** of feeling into this one, and if you've enjoyed this fanfic up to this point, I definitely think you guys will like the next chapter, too! R&amp;R please ^^**


	8. Hot as Lava, Cold as Ice

'**Tis me, once again! Haven't heard anyone use the word 'Tis in a while, thought it might be fun XD So, still hoping you guys don't hate me, and if you do, hopefully this chapter will change your mind! ;) This is one of my favorite chapters so far. There are happy feels, sad feels, suspense, and, of course, surprises! Kind of my thing, surprising my readers ^_^ Anyways, I hope you like it, R&amp;R!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Ranger, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

It had been a week since I'd suffered what could only be described as a mental breakdown. I was out of the wheelchair, since I was only in it because walking was painful, not because I was unable. While the hyper beam did severely burn me, it didn't actually do a lot of internal damage. Apparently it was the shock of it that nearly killed me, rather than a more serious aspect of the attack. Yet another reason I was considered incredibly lucky.

There had been a couple missions I had to sit out because of my physical and emotional condition, but my burns were actually healing quite nicely, and with each passing day, I was becoming just a little more "okay". I was still heartbroken over losing Keith, and that wouldn't fade anytime soon, but I knew how to cope with it in a better way. I realized how lucky I was to have known someone like Keith and to have had so many experiences with him.

I was still getting sick fairly often, which seemed to worry Rhythmi, but I had still made a lot of progress from my state before, and I'd made a couple doctors' appointments to ensure my health. I had a surprise for everyone at the Union, but I wasn't ready to tell them yet, it wasn't the right time. It was the secret that Mimi already knew, and I had even visited home and told my parents, but I decided to wait a little longer before telling everyone else.

"Kate," Sven started, walking into the room, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright. Is something wrong?" I asked. He looked conflicted about something…

"I hate to ask this of you, but… The Team Dim Sun Leaders have made an appearance, and we could really use you, if you're up to it," he admitted.

"Got it," I said immediately, and began preparing.

"Are you sure you're alright? Your burns are still healing and all," said, but he couldn't change my mind. If these Dim Sun "leaders" were involved, then I'd be there.

"I'm fine, Sven. Just because Keith's gone doesn't mean you have to take his place in worrying about me y'know," I smirked.

"Hey, someone has to worry about the Rookies!" he shot back. We exchanged a smile, and left the building with Wendy, ready to face whatever was waiting for us.

"Where are we headed this time?" I asked.

"Lookout Ridge. Let's go!" she cried out, and off we went, to the Cliffside overlooking all of Almia.

"Any idea what these creeps are up to?" I asked.

"No idea. Don't know who they are, or what they want, Barlow only told us to come quick and come prepared, he didn't give any more description than that. We have our Pokémon, and they all have their own oxygen masks so the black fog won't affect them if that's what they're using. We'll be prepared," Sven explained, as we neared Lookout Ridge.

The oxygen masks specially engineered for our Pokémon were an invention Isaac developed. He maneuvered and shaped them for Pokémon of every shape and size. Well, _almost. _The only type of Pokémon left out were underwater Pokémon, but Team Dim Sun hadn't started turning them… _yet. _Point being, we could now fight Team Dim Sun with our Pokémon partners, without the risk of them being turned against us, like I had experienced in the Marine Cave.

As soon as I saw the flashes of pink and blue hair at Lookout Ridge, I knew who Dim Sun's new leaders were. Ice and Lavana. So that's what they'd been up to. The Sinis Trio became a duo. Why was I not surprised?

"Hey, look honey! It's our friends the Rangers!" I heard Lavana cry from below, pointing up at us.

"It seems you're right! Why don't we give them a proper welcome?" Ice responded, and I was suddenly charged out of the air by a flock of enraged Starly. My Staraptor, however, was quick to catch me, just before I hit the ground.

"Nice try," I spat, glaring at the two, who were standing in front of the large orb filled with black fog, and bound by hundreds of spell tags. Obviously, they still kept Haunter in it.

"Hey, Kate-noob! It's been a while! We've missed you!" Ice exclaimed, smiling.

"And don't think we haven't learned from our mistakes. You can't stop us again. We've prepared this time," Lavana said, with a menacing smile. She looked even more confident than last time, and though I wasn't going to show it, I was actually nervous.

Wendy and Sven landed beside me, Stylers ready. "You need to let that Haunter go, it's wrong of you to keep it locked up like that!" Wendy cried, but Lavana and Sven just exchanged a grin.

"Now why would we do that? Honey, don't you think _this_ Haunter gives us power?" she asked Ice.

"Of course it does, dearest. There's no way we can be defeated with all the Pokémon in Almia fighting for us," he said in a relaxed voice. So, were they some sort of weird couple now? It was strange, but I didn't have time to figure out the technicalities of their new relationship that seemed more than just co-workers now.

"The Pokémon you infect aren't on your side! They're aggressive and cruel! Who says they won't turn on you once we're out of their way!" I cried. It was true that the Pokémon weren't brainwashed to attack a certain target, they were ready to attack anything and everything.

"Silly noob! How amateur do you think we are, it's insulting really! We have the key to their control right here!" Ice said gesturing to the Haunter orb. "As long as we keep feeding Haunter souls, the Pokémon under the influence of the soul orbs or the fog don't affect us, they'll do whatever we tell them to!" he cried, almost triumphantly.

"The _new_ and _improved _team Dim Sun can't possibly fail! It is directed by the 2 of us, of course! And we're hot as lava and cold as ice!" Lavana proclaimed. We all simultaneously sweatdropped at the last part.

"Really? Is that your new catch phrase?" Wendy asked.

"That was really lame guys, even for you," Sven added.

"Don't blame me, I didn't write that, she thought it was a good idea…" Ice interceded, also embarrassed by her proclamation.

Lavana clenched her fists and glared, obviously upset by the criticism. "Enough talk already, let's give them a sample!" she cried, as she turned the knob on the machine attached to the orb, and the black fog began to disperse, flooding the area. Our Pokémon were safe, as were we, but wild Pokémon began running in, flying in from above, ready to attack.

We began capturing Pokémon, while Lavana and Ice watched, making snarky comments like, "Ooh, these Rangers are fast, aren't they? Too bad they're not fast enough!" and "All of Almia will be infected and at our mercy before you can even finish clearing the area, noobs!"

We were starting to wear out, and Sven sent an urgent message to Rhythmi, telling her what was going on, while still performing captures, but the Pokémon kept flooding in. They wouldn't just attack our Stylers; they'd attack us directly as well! Fortunately, our Pokémon took a lot of the hits for us and tried to help us in fending off the poor possessed Pokémon. It was too much, they were running out from bushes, dropping from trees, the wild Pokemon from Nabiki Beach were beginning to appear, and the black fog was still spreading out, further and further.

As I was keeping up with captures, I felt something sharp seize my arms, breaking my capture, and I began to float into the air. I shrieked, and looked up, only to see the black eyes of a possessed Staraptor, flying me higher into the air.

"Staraptor!" I cried out to my own Staraptor, and heard a pained squawk from a ways away. I looked over to see my Staraptor, painfully pinned to the ground by the four strong arms of a Machamp, one on each wing, and 2 on its body. I saw it struggling to break free, but failing. Wendy and Sven's Staraptor's were both preoccupied fighting off the other Pokémon attacking their partners, Sven and Wendy were surrounded, and couldn't get to me if they had wanted to. I was on my own.

My Chimchar, began chasing me, jumping and trying to catch my feet, but never reaching quite high enough, crying out as I was flown closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Below, was a straight drop of at least a hundred foot drop, down to solid ground; I'd need a miracle to survive. I was truly terrified, and for the first time in a long time, I had no idea what to do. Chimchar kept chasing me, closer and closer to the cliff edge he went, as I was now suspended in mid-air.

"Chimchar! Move away from the edge, now!" I cried out, afraid he may run off the edge. He stopped running, but cried out again, reaching for me, even though I was far beyond his reach. I heard Lavana laughing at my predicament, as I felt tears well up in my eyes. So this is how it would end. I stared at my Chimchar who was giving me a desperate pleading look. I felt Staraptor's talons begin to loosen around my arms, and my body began felling heavier as it let go. "I'm sorry!" I cried out, as I felt a tear run down my cheek.

The Staraptor released me, and I heard Sven and Wendy both cry out my name. The sound of the battle above got fainter and fainter as I fell faster, the wind rushing by my ears, whipping through my hair. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact of the ground below, but suddenly, something – or someone – snatched me out of the air.

Instinctively I clung to my savior, wrapping my arms tightly around whatever stopped my fall, and I felt strong arms wrap around my waist. It was a person! At first I was shocked and couldn't move. I didn't even know who it was who had caught me; was it Sven? How did he get down there so fast?

"I told you I'd always be there to save you! And I haven't missed once!" A familiar voice cried out as I began to get my bearings back. Keith! But there was no way- I pulled back, sure I was imagining things, only to be met with the same goofy smile that I'd grown to love, and miss so much. This wasn't my imagination, it was real. Keith had caught me, on the back of a Pidgeot. My eyes welled with tears again as soon as I saw his face, and clung to him again, burying my face in his shoulder as he landed the Pidgeot on the ledge of the cliff, slightly below the battlefield I'd been dropped from.

He got us both off the Pidgeot and held me close against him for the first time in a long time. It had been months since I'd seen him, and I had so many questions about how he was here now, yet I was crying too hard to speak. I had been so sure that he'd been killed! How had he survived? Why hadn't he told me he was safe before now? How did he know where to find me? Despite these questions, the only thing that mattered was that Keith was alive, and holding me now.

I heard him murmur, "Voicemail: I got her. She's safe," into his Styler as he held me close still, with one arm. I began to calm as I felt his steady breathing as my head was against his chest, and I heard his heartbeat.

I calmed enough to speak, but only barely as my words were still interrupted by sobs periodically "H-How did you s-s-survive!? I-I thought y-y-you were dead! Everyone- we all- they said that you w-we-re! W-where were you this wh-whole time!?" I asked hysterically.

"I'll explain everything later, okay? We have to get back up there and help Sven and Wendy, they don't know I'm here either, nor do Ice and Lavana. Trust me, they'll be _very_ surprised to see me. You'll stay with me on Pidgeot and we can both perform captures from the air. We'll be harder to hit that way, and be able to perform multiple captures, okay?" he explained. He always was good at figuring out effective battle strategies.

I looked up at him and nodded. We climbed back onto the back of the Pidgeot, and I moved our oxygen masks and pulled him into a quick kiss, then murmured, "I missed you," before we took off again.

He smiled, and I heard him say, "I missed you too, Love" as we rose higher and higher into the air. "Ready?" he asked.

"Always," I replied, and suddenly we were back into the battle scene, where Sven and Wendy were surrounded by an even bigger group of Pokémon then before! They were outnumbered, and beginning to look worried, until Keith and I began performing captures from above. Everyone spun around to look at us in shock.

"It's Kate! And Keith!" Wendy cried joyfully. Sven just smiled up at us and continued his captures. Chimchar and Staraptor both cried out gleefully upon seeing us, and Chimchar helped us capture Machamp with his Poké Assist. Once Machamp was captured,

"The captive is here? Why _the hell_ is the captive here!?" Lavana shouted angrily at Ice.

"Don't ask me! It's not like I brought him along, and decided, 'Hey, maybe I should set him free, just for fun!'" Ice shot back at her. The hot-headed Lavana was not amused by his remark in the least, and began yelling at him, as he yelled back at her. Neither of them could be understood over each other and the cries of the Pokémon as they fought.

The population of possessed Pokémon was diminishing much more quickly with Keith and I as an air force, even with the black fog still seeping from the machine attached to Haunter's orb, and Sven and Wendy looked much more energetic and in control now that they weren't so overwhelmed like before.

Ice and Lavana became more on edge as we kept diminishing the population of Pokémon under the fog's effect, and argued more as a result of that.

"We're definitely making a difference up here, but there are more Pokemon coming. I don't think we can keep this up much longer!" Admitted Keith, as we continued our capture.

I smiled to myself. "Not to worry, Love. Just a little longer," I assured.

As if on cue, Rangers began rushing to our aid, Rangers from everywhere! Barlow, Crawford, Luana, and many other Rangers from other regions! Boyeland, Haruba Desert, even from the far off Shiver Camp! They all began capturing, and soon, we were releasing Pokemon from possession quicker than ever, and new afflicted Pokemon hadn't even arrived yet!

"Dammit!" we heard Lavana shout.

Keith let me off the Pidgeot to greet my Pokémon again. My Chimchar immediately jumped on me and hugged me. I hugged him back and went to inspect Staraptor's injuries. That Machamp did a number on his wings, and he couldn't seem to move them, poor thing…

Suddenly, a deafening sound filled the air as a helicopter began lowering towards the Dim Sun Leaders. Of course they called for backup as soon as they knew they'd lose! They quickly hooked up the Haunter Orb and the contraptions attached to it to strong cables that began lifting them aboard.

"You can't get away that easily!" Keith shouted, charging at them.

"Frosslass, get rid of the Ranger!" Ice shouted, and a possessed Frosslass burst out of the helipcopter shot at Keith with a blast of icy wind, throwing him from the back of his Pidgeot, and down the side of the cliff. I heard him scream as he fell, and Pidgeot dove after him.

"Keith!" I cried, as I watched him disappear. Not again, I couldn't lose him again! I began running towards the edge of the cliff. The Frosslass turned its attack towards me, suddenly, creating a wall of ice between us and the helicopter, to keep us from interfering as they flew away.

"Sven, Wendy! Follow the helicopter! Don't let them get away!" I cried, as Chimchar burned through the ice and I ran to the edge. The two flew off, following the helicopter. Pidgeot had caught up to Keith, but not soon enough. He was lying on the ledge of the cliff where we had been talking before reappearing. He was motionless.

"Keith!" I cried down, but got no response. "No… No, no. no, no, no, not again… This couldn't be happening again!" I thought to myself.

Pidgeot scooped up Keith's limp body as gently and carefully as possible, and flew him up to where we were all standing. I fell to my knees, and Pidgeot laid him infront of my lightly. The Rangers were gathered around us. Barlow called out for someone to get medical help. Other than that, others only muttered quietly amongst themselves, all wondering the same thing: Was Keith okay?

As soon as Pidgeot set him down, I checked his vitals. I felt a pulse; so far so good. I pulled off his oxygen mask and my own to check his breathing; it was safe to do so because the black fog had already solidified into sludge on the ground. Keith was still breathing, which gave me a sense of relief. I still worried however, as he was still unconscious and showed no sign of waking.

"Keith, wake up, come on," I pleaded, feeling myself break down to tears again. I couldn't lose him again! I got no response, but I couldn't give up, I kept trying to wake him, and I was beginning to lose hope.

I put a hand to his cheek gently. "You can't do this to me again, please… We need you, I need you," I pleaded, feeling the tears begin streaming down my cheeks, and feeling the sympathetic, horrified, and sad glances of the Rangers surrounding us burning through me. I didn't care now, though. Not this time. All I cared about was having my husband back again. Fate wouldn't be so cruel, to give him back only to take him away again… Would it?

My question was answered as Keith let out a groan, and opened his eyes. I let out a sigh of relief, as other the Rangers began applauding. "Thank God," I whispered, as he sat up rubbing his head.

"Man, that Team Dim Sun got a lot more violent than last time," he muttered. I smiled, and wrapped my arms around him tightly, and he did wrapped his arms around me in return. I never wanted to let him go. I was feeling a mix of relief, happiness, and love filling me completely, and all because Keith was safe with me, and I felt like everything would be okay now. Suddenly, I heard a small sound from my Styler, notifying me that I received a text message. I pulled away and read it:

_Sender: Sven_

_Is Keith alright?_

I smiled and hit reply:

_I think so. I'm taking him back to the Union to be sure. I'll catch up with you guys! Turn your trackers on._

I hit send, and looked back to Keith. "Do you feel alright? I mean I know it probably hurts, but do you think you're okay overall?" I asked Keith. The Rangers all began to leave, congratulating Keith and I on our captures as they passed, and muttering how glad they were that he's back, before deciding to patrol their own regions for any more Team Dim Sun mischief, leaving the 2 of us alone.

"Yeah, I think so. My head hurts is all, no need to worry," he assured me, again wearing that goody trademark grin of his. I'd never been so happy to see that grin, as I was at that moment.

"We'll go back to the Union to make sure. Don't scare me like that again, Keith. I need you," I paused, and added, "_We_ need you."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly, "What do you mean by 'we'?" he asked, unsure of what I was implying. I had to tell him. I had been keeping this secret from everyone for too long; it was now or never.

"Keith, I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Keith is back everybody! I just couldn't kill him off, I love his character too much for that. Definitely created some suspense though, right? And besides, it showed Kate how to be independent in his absence, and how many people are there for her once he was gone :) Oh, and did anyone see the pregnancy coming? I was dropping hints in the last couple chapters about it, wanted to see if anyone would catch on ;) In chapter 6 she talked about a secret with Mimi, that she hadn't told her parents or Keith about because she "wasn't sure yet". I also brought up the "secret" in chapter 7, and I mentioned Kate was getting sick all the time. If you didn't see the hints before, hopefully you do now! :D Anyways, I was looking forward to bringing Keith back! I really do love him and Kate :3 **

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! It was one of my favorites so far :) If you did, please review and let me know! ^_^ I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Home at Last

**Hi everyone! Sorry about the delay on that chapter, I spent most of the past week in the hospital. It turns out I had a gallstone, and it made me really sick, so I spent Wednesday and Thursday going to the emergency room and having medical tests taken, Friday having an ultrasound, having my gallstone removed, and being admitted to the hospital, and staying there until Sunday, when I went into surgery and had my gallbladder removed. Fun times, right? It was very minor, so I'm already home, feeling better every day. **

**So I apologize for the wait, but I hope you're enjoying this chapter, as we're getting close to the end! Just a little more! ^_^ I'm changing things up a little and writing this chapter from Keith's POV (point of view). It will go back to Kate, but I wanted to get inside Keith's mind here as well, since this whole time we've only seen Kate's side of things. Tell me what you think! And hey, let me know what kind of fanfictions you'd like to read in the future! I'll probably write more Pokémon Ranger, once I'm done with this one! ;) Anyways, R&amp;R :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

**Keith's POV**

We lay there together, for the first time in months. After we'd "greeted" each other properly, Kate had fallen asleep almost immediately afterwards. My poor girl, she must've been exhausted. I'd heard all about what I had missed once we got back to the Union…

* * *

"Well, you seem to be okay, besides a couple scrapes and bruises. You're very lucky, falling from such a height could have been fatal," the Doctor told me, once he'd finished his examination.

"C'mon Doc, it'll take more than that to take me out," I joked, and he smiled as he packed up his supplies.

"Yes, well I'd still err on the side of caution if I were you," he advised.

"I'm a Top Ranger, caution isn't exactly our thing," I said as I left the room. As suspected, Kate was waiting right outside. As soon as I got out, she wrapped her arms around me.

"So what did the Doctor say?" She asked, concern still clear on her face. I smiled, and wound my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

"The Doctor says I'm fine, no serious damage," I assured her. She smiled and laid her head on my chest. "Now, what happened to you?" I continued, "You're covered in burns. Something tells me those didn't happen just before I got there," I said, resting my hand on her cheek as she looked up at me.

"I'll tell you about it later, we need to get back to Sven and Wendy! We can't let Ice and Lavana escape, who knows what new tricks they have planned," Kate said.

"Wait… Are you sure you should be doing this in your… condition?" I asked, putting a hand gently on her belly.

"I'm sure, Keith. I'll be okay, I promise," she said reassuringly. "Come on."

We got out the door only to meet the dissatisfied faces of Sven and Wendy.

"We lost them. They sent out a bunch of Grunts riding hypnotized Pokemon. We were ambushed and the helicopter got away. Sorry guys," Sven admitted, looking distraught.

"It's not your fault. Go tell Erma, she'll have Rangers on lookout for us. We'll find them again," Kate said, with a determined smile. Leave it to Kate to make the best of any and every bad situation.

"We told her on the way back, and she wants you 2 to go home for the day. We'll keep lookout, and we'll call you the second we hear anything, but we figure you 2 could use some alone time. Everyone missed you, Keith," Wendy said, as she hugged me.

"Good to have you back, man," Sven added, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

"Good to be back," I said smiling, and looking over at the shrine in my honour. I had no idea that people respected me, and missed me that much. I'd never felt so important in all my life, to so many people. It was a truly amazing feeling, and I was grateful I was able to impact so many people, without even really realizing it.

"Thanks guys, we'll watch for any information. See ya later," Kate said, and with that we headed home.

* * *

"So about those burns, care to tell me what happened?" I asked Kate.

"Oh, right… Well, I was kind of on the receiving end of a Salamence's Hyper Beam," she explained, smiling sheepishly.

Wait… She wasn't actually serious was she? She couldn't be… I laughed lightly, a little nervously, as I said, "Yeah, right. What really happened?"

Kate stopped smiling, and suddenly looked at me seriously. "Uh, that _is_ what really happened," she said.

"Are you serious!? How!? And how did you even live through that!?" I asked, suddenly very concerned and at the same time, sort of impressed that she was so… well safe, considering what happened to her.

"I guess it didn't use full power," she shrugged.

"Kate, you're usually really careful about things like this, and you've always been the best at performing safe captures, what happened?" I asked, calming myself enough to have a rational conversation.

She sighed, and I knew she was getting ready for a full explanation. "Okay, well once I found out about the accident in Mt. Silver, I had tried to reoccupy myself with my research. Looking up more about the Legend, where it came from, who it came from, when, things like that. Erma had told me you were missing, and I didn't want to go through some kind of tragic meltdown so I tried to distract myself… Stop thinking about you for a while… I didn't even come home anymore; I just stayed at Union Headquarters and worked from the moment I woke up until I fell asleep. Then, Erma told me that you were pronounced dead because no one could find you, they only found some shattered pieces from your Styler. We held a wake for you, and I tried to stay strong, you know? Later that day, Sven and Wendy were sent on a Mission, some Dim Sun Grunts were trying to wake up Salamence and capture it using those Soul Orbs, like all the other Pokémon they enslaved. I thought, like my research, it would keep me from breaking down, but as soon as I saw those Uniforms… I lost it. I started screaming and beating on the Admin about how… They killed you and how everything was their fault… And in my meltdown, I woke up Salamence and he attacked. No one was hurt except me, and according to Sven and Wendy, the Dim Sun members actually helped save me. I know it was stupid, and know I shouldn't have reacted that way, I just thought I could handle losing you and… I couldn't," she explained, looking at the ground.

I pulled Kate into my arms immediately and held her close. I felt so many things in that moment, fear that she came close to death, relief that she was alive, a bit of anger that she'd be so reckless, but more than anything else, love for my wife who cared about me so much, and couldn't hide it. She clung to me tightly, pressing her body close to mine, so close, I could feel her heartbeat.

"You know… If anything does ever happen to me, I don't want you to dwell on it… I mean, I understand you'd be sad for a while, and that's okay, but I'd want you to move on, and let yourself smile again. I'd want to know that you're okay even without me," I said, once I'd finally managed to speak again. I felt her nod against me.

"Don't talk about dying anytime soon. I almost lost you already, and I just got you back… I can't lose you again, okay?" pleaded Kate, her voice trembling slightly, and I felt her grip tighten around me.

"Don't worry, Love. I'm not going anywhere," I murmured, smiling, and kissed the top of her head gingerly. We stayed like that for a while, cuddling, enjoying each other's company.

It had been so long since I had her all to myself like this, it made me realize how much I had taken for granted. Seeing Kate's smiling face every day, waking up with her in my arms, making love to her, tasting her cooking, seeing that grateful smile whenever I cooked for her, hearing her voice, watching her tie up her hair in the morning, seeing her drift off to sleep at night, lounging around with her after work, or whenever we were off-duty. There were so many little things that I experienced every day, being married to her, and I didn't even realize how lucky I was, until now. It was all clear to me now, since I'd been away for so long. I missed her every night that I fell asleep in that cave, and every day that I conducted research without her by my side. Her e-mails were usually what motivated me to keep working hard. The thought of coming home to her was my greatest motivation.

"You never told me," she muttered, "What happened when that cave collapsed? How did you survive? And where were you?"

"Right. Well, some of our researchers disturbed a Steelix and it chased them back to our main base in the cave, while I was giving a report to Johto's Ranger base. Now, even though I don't care for Team Dim Sun, the researchers were decent people. A lot of them had no idea about what was going on over here. They were just hired to research Pokémon. Where they live, what they do, what they eat, how they act and react, that's all. They're not evil people trying to hurt Pokémon. So I felt I had to protect them. When Steelix attacked, part of the cave collapsed behind us, so I pulled out my Styler and performed a capture without really thinking about it. That gave me away however… The Admins saw me, so they grabbed me, broke my Styler, and brought me to Ice and Lavana," I told her.

"That's what Lavana meant about that 'captive' thing!" Kate exclaimed, referring to the argument between Lavana and Ice at Lookout Ridge over my escape.

"Yup. They decided not to tell you guys that they had me. They wanted you to think I was dead so if things got desperate, they could bring me in last minute, as a hostage. A kind of 'If you don't do what we say, you'll never see him again' sort of deal," I continued.

"But I already thought I'd never see you again," Kate argued, "Why wouldn't they let us know you were alive to get what they wanted now?" she asked.

"I guess they figured they could get what they wanted without me so far, and if you knew I was alive, you'd send secret forces out to rescue me. They didn't want that. Then again, they underestimated my ability to escape," I continued, smiling wistfully. "They locked me up in some tower. I had no idea where I was, or where my Pokémon were, and I was bound up with chains. There was no way for me to get out. The Steelix that I had calmed down, however, saw my capture and I guess he wanted to help me. One night, I saw him outside my window. He couldn't help me himself, but he got other Pokémon to help me, like my new friend Pidgeot. She managed to pick the locks open for me, and as soon as I was free, I thanked Steelix for his help, and we headed back here. It was a really long flight, it took about 3 days for flying, and hiding out overnight, but as soon as we got back to Almia, I was told you were fighting Ice and Lavana at Lookout Ridge. I told Pidgeot she could go home if she wanted, but she seems to have taken a shine to me, so she's one of my new partners," I finished.

Kate smiled at me, her eyes shining even in the dim lighting of the apartment. "I'm glad you're home," she uttered quietly; "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kate," I said, and with that, I pulled her in and kissed her. She responded fervently, and I lost myself in the moment. Somehow, even after 4 years of being with Kate, and a countless number of kisses, it still felt like the first time I had kissed her.

Even though our first kiss had been a sort of accident, and had led to rejection (on my part), apology (also on my part) and eventually becoming a couple. It had that impulsive intensity, the electricity, the passion that made me unable to stop thinking about the kiss even after I had told Kate I wasn't interested in her as more than a friend.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I kept my arms securely around her waist as I kissed her, for first time in months. I didn't think about anything else; I didn't care about anything else, just her and I lost in the moment.

After we broke apart, breathless and flushed, I was reminded of the _secret_ she told me earlier. "Kate, about the pregnancy… Are you sure you should be fighting Ice and Lavana while you're pregnant?"

"I have to, Keith. I can't stand by for something like this, it's too important. Besides, I'm not very far along, I won't hurt the baby," she said defensively.

"Kate, you were nearly killed today! They tried to throw you off a cliff!" I argued.

"That wasn't because of the pregnancy! I would've been thrown off a cliff even if I wasn't pregnant!" she shot back.

"Yes, but the point is you are! It's not just you at risk anymore, it's our baby, too!" I yelled, and for a moment, we both fell silent.

For minutes we just sat there staring at each other. Not wanting to say the wrong thing, not knowing the right thing. Kate was the first to break the silence, "Keith, I know you're worried about me and the baby. But I can't just sit by and watch Team Dim Sun triumph over Almia – maybe the world – knowing I could have done something to prevent it!" she explained.

"So what, you think the rest of us can't handle it without you?" I asked, slight bitterness in my voice.

"Are _you_ saying that you don't need me?" she asked, just as bitterly. Kate really did have a way of turning the tables on me in an argument.

"Don't turn this around on me! Of course we need you; you're one of our best Rangers! But maybe we don't need you all the time, for _everything. _Sometimes you need to think of yourself rather than others. You need to let others handle things once in a while."

"I know you guys can handle Team Dim Sun, but they're better than before and I think that all of us are required to make sure their plan doesn't succeed. The Pokémon they've been possessing with soul orbs are a lot harder to save than the ones controlled by Gigaremo or Miniremo units. This isn't about me or our baby, Keith. It's about the fact that I couldn't live with myself knowing that I just let Team Dim Sun destroy our beautiful Almia without doing everything within my power to stop them. I can't bring our baby into this world with a clear conscience if it's overrun by the likes of Ice and Lavana. Besides, if they did manage to take over, who's to say they wouldn't kill me and the baby anyways? I know you're worried, but I can't duck out of this mission now. I have to try," Kate said passionately, looking me in the eyes.

"There's no talking you out of things when you set your mind to them. Just be careful," I pleaded, holding her close.

"Pssh, what do you think I am, a Rookie?" she asked teasingly.

"Not a Rookie, but mediocre at best," I teased back.

"Hey!" she cried, jumping on me, trying to wrestle me over. For such a small girl, she's surprisingly strong. Comes with being a Top Ranger I guess. I couldn't help laughing, and obviously she couldn't either, because we both eventually collapsed in a fit of laughter, right back in each others arms.

* * *

Now here we were again, together again as if no time had passed. I watched her sleeping, as I wasn't able to fall asleep myself. Something about being back here, where I wanted to be with my wife made it hard to waste the time sleeping. I wanted to enjoy every minute I had by Kate's side, so I was lost in thought while she slept soundly.

I couldn't help but think about the baby. I didn't honestly know how I felt about it. I mean, it wasn't an accident, but it also wasn't _planned_ either. We weren't trying to get pregnant, we had just stopped… trying not to.

I wasn't worried so much about the question of , "Am I ready to be a father?" Kate and I were both the types of people who managed everything that came our way, and I was sure we could manage this as well. I was more worried about how a baby would change things. How could we continue our busy jobs as Top Rangers while still loving and caring for a baby?

I wasn't about to ask Kate to give up her position so she could become a stay-at-home Mom, but I also didn't want to be the kind of parents who hired a sitter who they don't even know to raise their child, and only focused on work. It was a difficult balance and I had no idea how we could handle it. I knew we would figure it out somehow, but the thought of it always made my head spin, considering all the "what ifs" and possible outcomes. The only thing I was sure of was that Kate and I would definitely love this baby as much as is humanly possible, and that was the only thing that kept me from worrying too much.

I ran my fingers through Kate's hair gently. It had grown longer, and she seemed to wear it down more often than she used to. It was up while we were fighting Ice and Lavana, but once we got home, she left it down for the evening. I liked it; it was a cute look for her.

Tomorrow we would get up like we always did, and we would find Ice and Lavana. I knew we had a busy day ahead, and with that thought, I finally drifted to sleep.

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**There! I'm so sorry this chapter took so long, but it's up! Did you enjoy the shift in perspectives? Next chapter, it's back to Kate's point of view, but I may shift back to Keith from time to time if it seems appropriate. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and next Chapter, we'll see our heroes face off once again, against Ice and Lavana! Excited yet? I am, and I'll get right to that, so it doesn't take me another 2 weeks. If you like this fic, please R&amp;R! :)**


	10. A Dangerous Change of Heart

**I'm back! Finally getting to my next chapter of this fanfiction! Getting closer to the end now :) I really hope you guys have enjoyed it thus far! I'm going back to Kate's point of view, and facing off against Ice and Lavana once again! I hope you enjoy, and as always, R&amp;R! :) **

**Disclaimer: You know the drill… I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

"Any trace of them yet?" I heard Keith ask for the fifth time in the past half hour, as Rhythmi clicked frantically around on a complicated looking map screen, typing in code, and scanning the area.

"For the last time, Keith, when I know, you'll know. Let me work," said Rhythmi, irritated, not taking her eyes off the screen for even a minute. All the Operators were working their hardest to find any sign of Ice and Lavana. We knew timing could be crucial.

Thanks to Isaac's research, alongside Professor Hastings, the Operators had a lot of technology specifically to track down soul orbs, and any black fog emissions. It was how we had always found Dim Sun before and stopped their previous plans from taking off. However, since Ice and Lavana showed up, all members of Team Dim Sun become strangely silent. Either they'd all simultaneously disappeared, or they'd gotten much better at hiding their whereabouts and avoiding our new technology.

"This is stupid! We shouldn't be sitting around here waiting! We should be out looking for them!" Keith exclaimed, frustrated at waiting around the Union, not satisfied by simply preparing ourselves and our Pokémon.

"Oh, great idea, Keith! Why don't _you_ all just fly around aimlessly looking all over Almia for Ice and Lavana! Meanwhile, we Operators are doing all the work actually looking for them! It's not like they'd be waiting for you, and have some kind of plan in place to keep you from getting to them! It's not like if you just happen to show up, they'll attack you or anything! Use your brain, Keith! Obviously, being unseen and actually knowing where you're going is important right now!" Rhythmi snapped, still not taking her eyes off the screen for even a second to scold Keith.

"Woah, okay, chill out Rhythmi, jeez," Keith said, surprised at her outburst. It wasn't like her to just snap like that, but the situation at hand seemed to have her wound pretty tight at the moment.

"Leave her alone, Keith. She's really stressed out right now," I said, quietly, taking his hand and pulling him towards me as I continued organizing my bag.

"Oh, and I'm not? We need to find Ice and Lavana, quick!" Keith cried, urgently.

"Look, we _all_ know that! But arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to help us find them any faster! We need to stick together on this. Until we find some sign of them, work on preparing yourself.

"I already did. My Pokémon are outside with Wendy and Sven, my bag is packed, and I'm ready. I can't wait any longer," he whined, as I double checked the contents on my bag once again.

I had additional oxygen masks for humans and Pokémon, An additional Styler than Erma gave all the Rangers in case any of ours broke during the battle, and some potions for any injured Pokémon.

"Well you're going to have to, cause we can't do anything until we actually find them," I responded calmly, closing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

As if on cue, the Operator next to Rhythmi piped up. "Hey, we found something!" he exclaimed, clicking on the screen even more frantically then Rhythmi. Rhythmi actually took her eyes off her screen for the first time in hours.

"Where?" she asked, as he continued clicking and typing.

"Looks like an island in the Wailmer Sea. It's uncharted, but there's a strong fog emission coming from the area.

"Oh, I see it!" Rhythmi exclaimed, scanning the Wailmer Sea on her monitor. We crowded around looking closely at the red dot that gave us an approximation of where they were based on the highest density of fog.

"Why the heck would they release fog in the middle of the sea?" Keith asked. "They _must _ know we can find out, and it'll take hours before it reaches any land, and their aren't a whole lot of wild Pokemon around that area," he finished, curious.

"Maybe the fog can affect the water Pokémon, too," I suggested.

"Most of them don't exactly breathe oxygen, Kate. Not even Lavana and Ice are _that_ dumb," he pointed out.

"Some of them do! Like the ones that come on land! And maybe it has a way of infecting the water; like that sludge that we get once the fog disappears. Come on! Rather than talking it over, we gotta go, now! Thanks Operators!" I cried, and ran out the door, Keith following right behind me. As soon as we got out the doors, Wendy and Sven were already securely mounted on Staraptors.

"How are we going to get to this island without being seen? It doesn't look too big," I commented, as I mounted by Staraptor with my Pokémon, and Keith with his Pokémon on his Pidgeot.

"I don't think we can be covert in this situation. We'll just have to show up and be ready for whatever they throw at us," Sven said, we nodded and took off.

As we neared the red dot on our Stylers, we began to see the cloud of black fog surrounding the small island. We all had our oxygen masks in place, when suddenly; my Staraptor was hit with a blast of water. He started flailing around in midair, trying to regain his balance in mid-air.

"Woah, woah! Calm down!" I cried, falling forward and holding tight to Staraptor as he slowly regained composure.

"Look! The water Pokémon!" Wendy cried, pointing at the sea below. Black-eyed water Pokémon were leering at us from the surface, and shooting water attacks up at us.

"Kate, looks like you were right! The fog does affect them!" Keith cried, narrowly dodging a hydro pump from an aggressive Poliwhirl.

"Come on, we'll have to do some dodging! Try to land somewhere in the trees over there, maybe Ice and Lavana won't notice us that way!" Sven cried, and as we flew closer, the water attacks grew more frequent and aggressive. We saw Ice and Lavana, as we neared the edge of the small island, but they didn't seem to see us duck into the small brush of trees, as they were paying attention to the Pokémon that were drawing nearer and nearer to Haunter's Orb.

We rushed out, our Pokémon following close behind, bursting through the thick, ugly black fog surrounding us all.

"Oh, look who it is, darling! Our good friends, the Rangers!" cried Lavana, in mock-happiness.

"Well dear, we mustn't be rude! Golem, Frosslass! Why don't you greet our guests!" cried Ice, and 2 large Golem and a Frosslass began advancing on us. We all grabbed our Stylers, and began our capture. Keith and I were taking on the 2 Golem, while Sven and Wendy encountered the Frosslass.

No matter how much we circled the Pokémon, our friendship just couldn't get through to these Pokémon. They kept fighting, no matter how many times we captured them. Our Pokémon fought as well, to hold them off, but it merely slowed them down. One of the large Golem fainted from the numerous Pokémon attacks, but the other wasn't even close to finished with us.

As Keith and I fought together, we heard Wendy and Sven cry out simultaneously. We looked over, and saw Frosslass had frozen their feet to the ground and they couldn't move.

"You got this?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, go!" I assured him, as he rushed over to defend the 2, who were trying to pull their feet from the ice that held them firmly where they stood.

Golem, swung at me suddenly, narrowly missing as I jumped back. "Piplup! Use water gun!" I cried. Piplup jumped in front of me defensively, and shot a powerful stream of water straight at Golem. Golem backed off at this just slightly, shielding itself, before becoming more enraged and running at me. I grabbed Piplup and dove out of the way. As I hit the ground, my bag flew off my shoulder, and skid across the sandy beach. I rose to grab it, but as I did, a possessed Starly swooped down to where I was, and locked it's talons around my oxygen mask, pulling it off my face and flying off with it.

I coughed as I felt the horrible fog entering my lungs, and covered my nose and mouth. I needed my bag! I broke into a run for it, but I was pulled back by Golem's strong arms, and held in place. I couldn't move! I struggled and flailed, still trying to keep from breathing in the fog, but it was in vain.

"Kate!" I heard Keith cry, as my vision began to blur. Breathing in that fog was a horrible, suffocating feeling, but I felt it begin to take effect; to take over me. My vision went black, and I felt my body go limp, and stop struggling. Golem placed me back onto the ground, and I felt rage fill my body, bitterness course through me, and hatred overcome my personality.

Even though I still couldn't see anything but blackness, I was somehow able to navigate my surroundings. I heard Piplup's concerned voice, and felt it tug at my shirt, but I simply kicked it out of the way. I heard a small cry of pain come from it, and it made me smile.

"We got her!" I heard Lavana cry out gleefully.

"Damn you!" Keith screamed angrily, still unable to pass the Frosslass and get to where I stood. I walked over to Keith and Frosslass, and I felt him grab my shoulders. "Kate! You can still hear me, right? I know you're still there, and you have to snap out of it!" he cried.

I felt myself shove him away roughly, causing him to fall to his knees. I wasn't controlling my actions or words, they just happened as if I was on some kind of autopilot, but I didn't care what happened. The bitterness I felt made me indifferent to anything I did. I didn't care if I killed Keith, or Sven and Wendy for that matter. My body seemed to know what it was doing, and I had nothing holding me back.

He get up and started towards me again. "Frosslass, use Blizzard" I heard myself command and I heard the attack as it hit. Keith cried out at the painful freezing sensation, and even without seeing it, I knew he was frozen to the spot, just like Sven and Wendy.

"Very good, Kate-noob!" Ice cried out, sounding thrilled by my accomplishment.

"Show that Ranger what you've become!" Lavana added. My body obeyed, and I felt myself throw a punch at Keith. Even without seeing, I had deadly precision and hit him right in the stomach, causing him to buckle over, wheezing. As he was catching his breath, I took the opportunity to grab his shoulders and knee him in the head as well.

Lavana laughed hysterically behind me, clapping her hands, and I was still indifferent. Indifferent to Keith's suffering, indifferent to her praise, all I could feel was undying hatred and voracious aggression that could not be satisfied. "Ka-ate," he wheezed out, "Please… have to fight this… Please," he begged. I don't know if it was the pleading tone of his voice, or the words he had just said, but it sparked something inside me, something different from the hatred.

"Kate! Finish him off!" Lavana cried, and tossed me a knife. I snapped back and caught the blade. I felt myself raise the blade, ready to kill Keith, and Sven and Wendy after that. None of them could get away now, and my indifference turned to a thrill, knowing what I was about to accomplish.

"Kate, please… I love you," Keith pleaded again. I felt that small spark again, stronger this time, but with the knife in my hand, I couldn't stop even if I had wanted to. I couldn't fight the feelings taking over me, or

I gripped the handle of the knife, and lunged at him. At the last second, right before the hit connected, Keith quickly grabbed my arm by the wrist, raised it above my head, and pulled me into him. He pressed his lips to mine, and I froze. All the negative feelings inside me began to dissipate, like water evaporating. My vision began returning, dark and blurry at first, but becoming more clear and bright as the effects of the fog wore off.

Though the feeling of his lips is so familiar to me, I felt an overwhelming feeling of love running through me. I wonder if this is how Pokémon feel when we perform captures to prove our feelings of friendship. Is this what it's like for them? I closed my eyes and let it overcome me; let the feeling drive away all the negativity brought on by the fog.

"No! Stop it! Kill him, Kate!" Lavana shrieked. I wasn't listening anymore. As I regained control of the situation, I realized what I had almost done, and quickly dropped the knife. It hit the ground with a clang, as Keith pulled away, leaving me sitting there shocked.

"I… I'm so…" I started, but I couldn't find the words. I can't believe I was so willing to kill my friends, even for a moment… I can't understand what had come over me… I was so ashamed, so disgusted at what I'd become, even if only for a short time.

"It's okay," Keith smiled, and pulled me into a hug. Wendy and Sven let out relieved sighs, and I saw Lavana's enraged face over Keith's shoulder.

"No! Tentacruel! Get rid of _her_!" Lavana roared, obviously upset that her plan had failed.

I felt something wrap around my ankle, pull me away from Keith and into the cold water. I shrieked as was pulled backwards, and I saw Keith try to come to my rescue, only to realize once again that his feet were still stuck to the ground.

"Frosslass, keep the Rangers frozen!" Ice commanded.

"No! Kate!" I heard Keith cry out. That was the last thing I heard before I was submerged in water. I tried to swim away, but the Tentacruel had a firm hold on my ankle, and I felt the same kind of bind encircle my waist and both of my wrists.

I still wasn't wearing an oxygen mask, and I was losing air fast. I struggled to grab my Styler and attempt a quick capture but my hands wouldn't budge as I sunk deeper and deeper. I saw my Piplup burst through the surface and quickly swim towards me, in an attempt to free me, but Tentacruel used an acid attack to divert it as it continued to drag me deeper.

I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I automatically tried to inhale, and only took in water. This was it. No one could save me this time, I'd drown. I only felt guilty that I was taking my baby with me. I'd caused so much trouble, I'd almost hurt the people I loved most, and now, my vision began to darken, and I felt my limbs go numb. My lungs ached as they filled with water and I knew I had only seconds before they stopped trying. "I'm sorry Keith…" was all that crossed my mind, before everything went black.

* * *

**Another cliffhanger, of course! Hope you guys enjoyed that! Either the next chapter or the one after that will be the very last chapter! Really depends on how long the next one is, because if it's too long, I'll split it up into 2 parts. Anyways, I'm really glad you guys have stayed with me on this so long! It's been about a month and a half since I started writing, and I can't help but feel excited, yet sad that the fanfiction is coming to an end. I'm so grateful for every review, and every follower or favourite I get from you guys 3 You really are the best audience ^_^ Anyways, please review, tell me what you think, aaaaaand I'll see you in a couple days for the next chapter! :D Until then, everyone! ;) **


	11. The Thousandth Soul

**Ahhhh I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post! I'm was in Europe for 2 weeks since July 7, so I was really busy getting everything ready for my trip. So, I'm sorry for the long wait! But I hope you like it, as we're slowly closing in on the end of this fanfiction :) I'm pretty excited for it ^^ So, stay tuned, and I will finish this fanfic! Thanks for your patience and reading up to this point, and if you like it, review~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rangers, any of its characters, or any part of the Pokémon Franchise. All Pokémon Ranger games, and other Pokémon games are the rightful property of Nintendo.**

* * *

I was falling… No, not falling… Floating... Somehow floating, though my limbs were heavy as lead. I couldn't move, nor open my eyes, so I was caught in this black abyss. I was so disoriented… Was I going up or down? Which way was up? I couldn't tell. I wasn't cold, nor was I warm… For the first time, I had no sense of temperature. Suddenly, even though my closed eyes, I saw a light… A light so bright that it forced my eyes to open.

It was coming closer to me…Or was I coming closer to it? All I knew was it shone brighter as I entered into it. I felt completely at peace… Until I heard a voice calling my name… But whose voice was it? It was so familiar… Yet I couldn't think of a single person I knew during my life, or recall a single memory… All I knew was who I was.

I felt myself being pulled closer to that light, thinking that I was imagining things, when I heard the voice again… Louder, clearer this time. Who _was_ that!? I knew that voice! But at the same time, I didn't know anything at all. I felt myself drifting back, away from the alluring light. What was happening to me? What… What _is_ this place? Why can't I remember anything about my life? Is this what death is?

I heard a soft, gentle voice say, "Go. It's not your time yet." As I floated back away from the light, I couldn't help but think of how… kind the voice sounded… It was… loving just in its tone. Who was it? Was it God? An angel? I saw no one around me, yet I felt surrounded by this presence, as if I was held in a loving embrace that I couldn't see, only feel.

Suddenly, I felt a sudden jerk, and as I did, the darkness faded away and light flooded my senses. I felt water surge up through my lungs, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I began coughing violently, and spitting water out, as I felt someone turn me onto my side.

As I got the last of the water out of my system, I flopped down onto my back, breathing heavily. Slowly, despite the sunlight, I managed to open my eyes, only to see a very worried Keith kneeling over me. He was soaking wet, and looked as if he had been crying.

Keith! That's who it was! The voice I heard calling my name was Keith! Why wasn't I able to think of that before?

"Kate… Say something, please," he pleaded, seeming unsure that I was really alive and breathing. Oh right… I suddenly remembered being dragged underwater by a Tentacruel… But then, how was I here? Or alive? Keith was frozen! So were Sven and Wendy! Did he really manage to save my life when he was frozen to the ground?

I suddenly noticed a bruise forming behind his right eye… That must have been where my knee had hit when I kneed him earlier… The guilt from what I had done while under the influence of the Black Fog flooded back. I had so much to say to Keith. I wanted to apologize, tell him that I loved him, how much he means to me, and tell him of my experience all at once.

"Hey…" Was all I managed to say, still groggy and weakened from my experience, but it was enough for Keith. He let out a sigh of relief, tears falling from his eyes, as he covered his face. So he _was_ crying. He rarely ever cried, and I don't think I'd ever seen him so distressed before. Even the day before our wedding, when he'd begun to panic he'd never looked quite this scared or helpless.

It took all of my strength, but I pushed myself to a seated position, using my arms, and wrapped my arms around Keith tightly. He immediately reciprocated, holding me tightly, and securely, but still gently, careful not to hurt me.

"I'm sorry," I murmured into his ear, feeling tears well up in my eyes as well.

"Don't be sorry… It's okay, as long as you're safe," he assured me, and I could feel him trembling even as he held me.

"How did you do that? I mean, you were frozen… How in the world did you manage to get me out of there on time?" I asked softly, genuinely curious, still nestled into his arms.

He didn't move away as he answered me. He just continued holding me tightly. "My partner, Chimchar helped thaw me out more quickly, so I could get to you in time. Lavana and Ice ditched once you were pulled in. Apparently, luring us to this island was a diversion. Their plan was to trap us here, maybe even kill us, and then run away. They're much craftier than last time… But Sven and Wendy went after them, and I know they'll be able to find them," he explained. "Anyways, I had to capture the Tentacruel pretty quickly to make it let go, luckily it was only affected by the fog, not a soul orb. I don't know what I would have done then… You weren't breathing once I got you back on land, so I gave you mouth to mouth… I was so scared that I didn't make it… That I didn't get you back on time…" he trailed off.

"But you did. I'm here now. It was the weirdest experience, too. I was floating towards this light… Like a lot of people describe in these experiences, it was really there. I heard you calling my name, but I didn't know it was you… It was strange, I couldn't remember anyone I know, not my parents, my friends, no memories from being alive, all I knew was who I was…" I explained.

Piplup cautiously approached me, and I remembered how I kicked him after I'd inhaled the black fog. I felt overwhelmed with guilt, and pulled away from Keith. "I'm sorry, Piplup," I said, holding a hand out towards him, "I promise I won't hurt you again." Piplup ignored my hand, and ran right into me, hugging me tight. I couldn't help but laugh as I hugged him back. Keith smiled at the 2 of us. Suddenly, our Styler's both began beeping, and we pulled them out simultaneously.

"Looks like Sven and Wendy found Team Dim Sun," Keith said, a serious expression now on his face.

I smiled, "I knew they would. Ready to go?"

He nodded, and handed me a new oxygen mask, as well as my bag, then secured his own. We each got on our respective bird Pokémon, my Staraptor and his Pidgeot, our Pokémon teams boarded with us, and we flew off, following Sven and Wendy's lead using the tracker function in our Stylers.

They had finally stopped moving atop of Peril Cliffs. Keith and I were still a ways behind them, but the cliffs were in sight.

"This can't be where Ice and Lavana ran off to…" I said, slightly confused.

"Well that's where Sven and Wendy seem to be," Keith pointed out.

"Maybe they lost them… I mean, they led us to an island in the middle of the ocean, tried to kill us, and once we were all trapped, they ran off. After doing all that, why would they go to the highest point in Almia, and think that we wouldn't check there?" I asked.

"I dunno… But Sven is the best at tailing others, and Wendy is the best skyrider we have. With those two put together, there's no way we'd lose them," Keith assured me.

As we got closer, we saw Sven standing alone at the peak of Peril Cliffs. Alone. Ice and Lavana were nowhere in sight, as I had feared. He waved us over as we landed.

"Where are Ice and Lavana? You didn't lose them did you?" Keith asked, now looking as worried as I was.

"Well… Yes and no. We were right behind them, but they took a sharp turn behind the cliffs and… vanished. We searched everywhere, but we simply couldn't find them. Wendy's still looking, and I came up here to wait for you two," Sven explained.

"Wait… How did they vanish? I mean, they can't just turn into thin air…" I said, unable to come up with any explanation to what Sven just told me.

"We're not sure. As soon as we lost sight of them, they were just… gone," he said, looking defeated, and sullen.

"We'll find them, don't sweat it," Keith smiled reassuringly.

"Right, we're in this together, and we'll figure it out," I added. Sven smiled gratefully, and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the cliff's surface began to shake, and Pokémon all around began to panic. An earthquake? No way, the Pokémon on the ground were looking up at us curiously, but none of them were panicking. I had a feeling Ice and Lavana must be behind this as well.

I grabbed onto Keith for support, and pulled Sven over to us as well, so we could help keep each other from falling off the cliff. A pro to being a Ranger is learning to think on your feet, and learning group survival tactics for all kinds of situations.

"Voicemail! Wendy! Report back to Peril Cliffs, something is happening!" Sven yelled into his Styler, trying to be heard over the loud rumbling of the cliffs and terrified cries of Pokémon around us.

Seconds later, Wendy was there on her Staraptor. She must've heard the commotion herself and rushed back before even receiving the voicemail. She scooped us all off the trembling peak with Staraptor, and flew us up as the ground began crumbling, and a giant dome rose from the peak. Ice, Lavana and the Haunter were all kept inside. Off to the side of the dome was a glass addition containing hundreds of soul orbs, packed together like a gumball machine. On top of the add on was what looked like a laser, and it glowed black, with the same dark glow that the soul orbs themselves had in the light. Only this time, it was stronger, and I could almost feel the negativity pulsing from it. It was definitely powerful.

"Guess we found them…" Wendy muttered, narrowing her eyes at the atrocity before us. Our Staraptors and Keith's Pidgeot came to our aid, so we'd be able to split up more easily than if Wendy's carried all of us.

"My ears are burning, sweetheart! The Rangers must've been talking about us!" Lavana cried, throwing her arms around Ice melodramatically.

"They must've missed us! And we mustn't disappoint them!" Ice cried out, just as dramatic as Lavana.

"Don't think we'll just let this happen! Scyther! Use cut on that dome!" Keith cried, and his Scyther leapt over to the dome and slashed at it repeatedly with his sharp scythes. Nothing happened, not even a scratch.

"Yeah, that's right, we made this dome out of glass, or easily destroyed material, because we wanted you to break in! Are you really so dense to think that Pokémon can break in?" Ice taunted, smirking.

"Why do you look so surprised, Keith?" asked Lavana, a menacing grin spreading across her face, "After all, _you _created it, remember?"

Keith's eyes widened, gaping at Lavana. He said nothing, did nothing, he didn't deny her claim… he just… stared…

What was she talking about? Keith would never have actually worked for Team Dim Sun… would he?

"Keith? She's lying, right?" I asked, not convinced that Keith had anything to do with it.

Keith just sat still, on the back of Pidgeot. Not moving, not speaking, still staring. My stomach began twisting itself in knots, as fear flooded through me.

"Keith?" I asked, my voice now small and vulnerable. His silence was torture, I had to know what she was talking about, but Keith had turned to stone on me!

"You're… That's a lie… You're lying!" Keith finally cried out, looking desperate. I wanted to believe it, but his words offered me no comfort, for I could tell by his tone, by the fierce desperation in his eyes… He was denying it, but he knew it was true. But… why?

"Oh? I guess you never told your friends about your little _side project_ with us, now did you?" Ice asked, tauntingly.

"I destroyed it!" Keith cried out, still desperate and longing for any other explanation. I didn't understand any of this… I just had to hope that it was a misunderstanding… I hated doubting Keith's loyalty to the Rangers but… He seemed to be doubting himself, too…

"You really thought you destroyed something so indestructible? And you really think we'd leave something of such importance unprotected? We knew you'd try and destroy it as soon as you got what you wanted! So, once you were finished, we modified it to make sure any little 'weaknesses' you left in your work were fixed, and set a decoy for you! An exact replica of this machine actually. We had some of our other recruits working on it in secret," Lavana said, yawning as though this conversation was boring her.

"No… I was sure that was it… I was sure of it!" Keith cried out, eyes burning with rage. He looked at me desperately, but I could only stare blankly at him. I didn't know what to believe or what to feel. Obviously Ice and Lavana were trying to turn us against each other, specifically against Keith, but… It seemed like there was some truth to what they were saying.

"Did you hear that, darling? The Ranger is _sure of it!_" Lavana cried, laughing and clinging to Ice.

"You're right dear; we must not really be standing here in an indestructible dome! What _were_ we thinking?" he sarcastically replied, and the two of them laughed together, as we just stared, dumbfounded, angry, hurt, and a little betrayed.

"Kate, I-" Keith started, but I wasn't going to let him finish.

I glared at him, but spoke with confidence. "No time for explanations now! We'll talk later; right now we need to figure out a way to stop this before we lose Almia to these freaks!" I cried. Keith looked sad, but nodded, and looked back at the dome. Sven and Wendy were already having Pokémon charge at it with all their might, but we all knew it was no use. Could it really be indestructible? Judging by the Pokémon desperately trying to destroy it, but to no avail, it may very well be possible…

"What the hell are you planning to do with that!?" Sven cried out, angrily.

"Why not watch and see? You're just in time for our Grand finale! The 1000th soul we're feeding Haunter!" Lavana cried out, as some Dim Sun Grunts brought in a bound and struggling Ampharos. My eyes widened and I nearly felt my heart stop.

"You idiots! Haven't you heard the legend behind that Haunter!? What happens after 1000 souls!? You'll be killed!" I cried, as tears rose to my eyes. Not for them, but for the Pokémon. I couldn't believe there were 1000 innocent lives lost, 1000 Pokémon who had done nothing wrong, but who's poor, tormented souls were filled with anger, bitterness, and fueling this deep-seated evil that Ice and Lavana had managed to harvest.

"Foolish girl, of course we know the legend! That's the point! Once we've captured the legendary Arceus, there will be no limit to our power! No one can stop us! Not Rangers, not Pokémon, we will have complete control!" Ice cried out, as he and Lavana exchanged twisted smiles at what they had created. Or rather – What Keith had created…

No. I wasn't going to assign blame before hearing his side of things. Now wasn't the time. There was no way Lavana and Ice understood the weight of what they were trying to do!

"You think that you can harness the power of a Legendary Pokémon with this!? A Pokemon who, in the past, restored life to 1000 souls? You really think you have that sort of power!?" I cried, furious and dumbstruck at their stupidity.

They weren't listening. They never listened. As the Ampharos screamed, we watched the Haunter devour it hungrily, helplessly. There was nothing we could do!

Suddenly, a blinding light shone in the sky. No doubt about it; just as the legend foretold – It was Arceus. They'd done it, they had summoned the legendary Arceus. Now, they'd have to pay the price…

* * *

**Suspenseful, right? No worries, I'll tie up all those little loose ends in the very end! Again, sorry it took so long! Hope you guys liked the chapter! R&amp;R!**


	12. The Moment of Truth (Final Chapter!)

**FINALLY! School was SO crazy this semester, guys! I've never been so stressed in my life! However, now that I've reached freedom, it's time for me to finally end this fanfic! I'm really sorry it took so long, but I had next to no free time between work and assignments. I really hope I do the ending justice, and that you enjoyed reading my fanfiction overall. I can't thank my loyal followers enough for your time and patience. I couldn't have finished this without you! If you have a hard time remembering where we left off, I suggest you go back and read Chapter 11. Now, without further ado, I give you the final chapter of Revenge on Pokemon Rangers: Return of Team Dim Sun!**

_Suddenly, a blinding light shone in the sky. No doubt about it; just as the legend foretold – It was Arceus. They'd done it; they had summoned the legendary Arceus. Now, they'd have to pay the price…_

Lavana laughed, in a high-pitched, shrieking tone that was almost painful to listen to. Her eyes were wide, and burned with a passion I'd never seen before, it was to the extent of madness. She seemed mad with power, confident that the world would be hers for the taking.

Ice, on the other hand, had never looked so terrified. Normally cool and collected, he cowered behind Lavana at the sheer glow of the approaching Arceus. He was as scared as we were, and beginning to see the error in their plans. Arceus is the creator of all things! How could they think they'd created something that could overpower such an entity!

The Haunter, in its globe, shrank away, obviously remembering the last time it had been on the receiving end of Arceus' anger. Lavana was the only one who couldn't see how completely messed up this entire plan was!

"Uh… Lavana… Maybe we should go…" Ice uttered helplessly, still cowering behind his grinning partner in crime. She spun to face him sharply, a look of utter disgust taking over her features.

"What!? Don't tell me _you're_ backing down on me now! _This_ is what we've worked so hard on! _This_ is what we planned out, step-by-step, and _this _is how we'll take control of the Universe! Don't you dare go cold on me now, Ice! We're seeing this through! We're _going_ to capture Arceus, and I'm _going_ to be the Queen of everything!" she shouted, the madness in her gaze growing more fierce, as she walked over to some type of control panel as Arceus drew nearer.

"Get a grip, Lavana! _Look _at that Pokémon! That power just… just… EMINATING from its body! Do you really think we stand a chance!?" Ice cried hysterically, physically trembling.

"No, _you_ get a grip, you sissy! I know what I'm doing! If you want to leave, go. I don't need you! But don't expect me to share the riches of _my_ rewards with such an incompetent and flaky 'partner' like you!" she snapped, eying the controls carefully.

I saw something flash across his face. A look of hurt appearing as soon as she said she didn't need him. I'd never seen Ice like this… So scared and worried for someone other than himself. He'd always been so cool and confident. He didn't leave though. He stood there, behind Lavana who focused only on the incoming Arceus and the controls before her. He trembled, but didn't leave. He wasn't about to flake out on her, and I couldn't help but feel… some kind of sympathy for him, despite what he'd done

Arceus neared, as Lavana began vigorously pressing buttons and moving controls, quickly and precisely. I watched as our Pokémon continued to attack the dome that kept them from us, desperately trying to allow our intervention, but I knew it was no use… I'd never felt so helpless. I looked over at Keith, who was also still violently attacking the dome. An expression of vicious anger mixed with regret and pure desperation set on his face. He wanted to fix this, I know he did, but… I wasn't ready to forgive him just yet… Not until I knew what really happened.

Suddenly a ray shot out from the dome; a black ray, resembling that same colour and glowing aura that the Soul Orbs emitted. It hit Arceus as soon as it was right infront of the dome… And it froze. Arceus was caught in a state of paralysis as a giant orb, even larger than the orb that captivated Haunter, rose out of the ground, and closed around the Arceus. Lavana's eyes shone as she saw the captured legendary.

Arceus quickly recovered from its paralysis and began thrashing inside the orb, which did no good. Arceus began powering up a Thunder attack, and Keith, Wendy, Sven and I all flinched away, prepared for the shatter of the barrier, the blinding power of Arceus, the ear-shattering sound of such power that would be heard all over Almia.

…But nothing happened. I looked over at the Arceus, and saw elecrtricity silently cascading around the orb. It wasn't working? I saw the Arceus ready itself for another attack. A Hyper Beam. Then Extreme Speed. Seismic Toss. Cosmic Power. Nothing was working!

No. This couldn't be happening. They couldn't win! Lavana let out a shrill laugh. "I did it! I've captured Arceus! All of Almia will be mine! The entire WORLD will be mine! Nothing can stand against me!" she cried out, ignoring Ice, who was staring at the orb in total disbelief.

"This can't be over! It can't be!" I cried out, feeling tears of anger, frustration, and fear run down my face. "We have to do something!" I cried.

"Like what!?" Keith cried back, getting off Pidgeot and staring at the large dome before him. "They have Arceus! If a Legendary can't stand up against them, how the hell do we stand a chance!?" Keith cried, giving up on any hope of beating them. I felt anger surge through me. I couldn't hold back. I was mad at Keith's betrayal, and now his willingness to just give up.

"No!" I shouted, flying in closer to him. "You don't get to do that! You started this, and _we _are going to finish it, do you understand me!? Don't become a Pokémon Ranger if you're not willing to fight until the very end! _We_ are not giving up, meaning _you_ are not giving up! So don't give me any of that hopeless crap, so get back on that Pidgeot and fight, dammit!" I shouted at him, leaning in close to his face.

The look of shock on his face settled for a moment, before he got a very serious look and nodded at me. "You're right, I'm sorry" he said, getting back on his Pidgeot, suddenly determined. "We're not done yet."

Suddenly, Arceus stopped attacking its seemingly indestructible casing. It went still and its eyes began to glow. Suddenly, a light began growing and intensifying around it, to the point where we had to squint to see. I understood now. This was Arceus' true power. Its power didn't lie in its attacks as a Pokémon, but far beyond that. It had been holding back before… Not anymore. There was no way anything Ice, or Lavana or Keith, or any person could make that could withstand the true power of Arceus. A crack. One single crack. Then another. And another. The cracks began spreading as the light grew more and more, intensifying in brightness and power. Even the dome protecting Ice and Lavana began to crack.

"Shit! Everyone, back up!" Keith cried, cutting in front of me on his Pidgeot as the material shattered, so only he was hit by the shower of shards the flew out at us. Wendy and Sven had taken his advice and flown out further, avoiding harm. Keith winced as the glass hit him.

"Idiot!" I cried out. "You didn't have to do that!" I said, worried about all the nicks and cuts covering the side that took the brunt of the explosion.

"I had to do something to start making it up to you," He said with a soft smile. "And I'm just getting started." He winked, and flew back to my side, and I couldn't help but smile as I rolled my eyes.

We looked back at Arcues, who was now standing before a cowering Lavana and Ice, power emanating before them. They knew what was coming. We all knew. They both looked genuinely terrified at the fury standing before them, and even the Haunter in it's orb shrank away as much as it could.

I grabbed my Styler. "I'm going to capture it… I need to calm it down" I said, as everyone stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Are you out of your mind!? Arceus could kill you!" Keith shouted, as he grabbed my arm. I wretched it away, and continued moving forward.

"We can't let Arceus do the same thing to Ice and Lavana that it did to that sorcerer!" I cried, gesturing to the Haunter in its orb.

"Why not!? They deserve it after what they've done!" cried Sven, angrily.

"That may be true, but if they're turned into bitter, hungry spirits like that, then this will happen all over again sometime in the future! Letting Arceus handle it may be the easier way to go, but what happens when someone else finds them, and decides to harness _their_ powers for world domination? Don't you see? It's an endless cycle, and always will be unless someone puts a stop to it! I'll be that someone! I want to end this right here and now. Not for Ice and Lavana, but for Almia! For all the citizens who have lived here, do live here and someday will live here! They deserve peace and until I put an end to all this, we will never be at peace! I'll need your help, guys, so please! Help me end this once and for all!" I cried out, as I ran over to Arceus.

It was getting ready to attack as Ice and Lavana continued to cower, when suddenly, a thin band of light began to encircle it. I had activated my Styler. Arceus turned to me in a rage and began attacking. All at once, all our Pokémon, Sven's, Wendy's, Keith's, and my own, all began countering its attacks for me. Every single hit they took was hard, and I could see them all struggle with the sheer power behind each attack, yet they would not falter.

Sven, Wendy and Keith were instantly by my side, helping me with the capture. Arceus fought us all, but we held strong. We had to finish this together. I held my Styler more tightly than ever before, as I felt the strongest resistance I'd ever felt in my life. Arceus was emanating a strong, hurricane-like wind, trying to push us away. I planted my feet firmly onto the rugged rocks of the mountain, trying to use the sporadic bumps and ledges to keep my feet from sliding backwards.

I pleaded in my mind for my feelings of friendship and peace, for all our feelings of friendship and peace, to shine through to this Arceus. Ice and Lavana had gone back into their hideaway inside the mountains as soon as we'd distracted Arceus from them.

My Styler began to crack against the great power! It was breaking! "Come on! Just a little longer! Just hold on a little longer!" I thought to myself as I held tight, encircling Arceus, but beginning to tire. I felt Keith's arms wrap around behind me, and he pressed himself against me. He must've known I'd be getting tired, being the base of this capture, and while still using his own Styler, he aligned his arms with mine, reinforcing my stance, and my power. He took some of the strain off me, giving me that much more energy.

I could feel the resistance against us beginning to waiver, and less force was being used in its attacks. We were getting through to it! I was exhausted by the energy I needed just to keep hold of this great Pokémon, but we were so close, I just couldn't give up now. I looked around at Sven, Wendy, all our Pokemon Partners, and even back at Keith. All becoming worn and tired; all holding strong. This is why we're Rangers. I couldn't have held strong for more than a minute without their support, their strength, their passion to do what's right. I couldn't have asked for a better team.

The struggling ceased, and Arceus calmed. I felt my knees buckle at the sudden loss of forth and everything went black.

**Keith's POV**

The wind stopped abruptly, and I staggered slightly. I felt Kate's knees give out as she collapsed into my arms. I fell to my knees, holding her close to me. She must've been exhausted from that capture. It took a toll on all of us, but she definitely bore the brunt of it.

Arceus stood before us, now calmed, and looked up at the sky. It lifted itself from the ground, levitating, and began to glow again. Rather than the hostile glow that surrounded it in rage, this glow had a type of peaceful aura around it. As it did, all the hostile Pokémon who had been possessed by soul orbs also began to glow as the soul orbs were painlessly removed from their bodies, as if they weren't even solid materials.

I looked out from the mountaintop and saw soul orbs flying to the mountaintop, all of them gathering together in the air. Kate shifted in my arms, breaking my stare away from the hundreds of orbs flying before us, and causing me to look down at her as her eyes fluttered open.

**Kate's POV**

I could hear a strange sound… a whooshing kind of sound, like something passing just overhead… No, it was like lots of things were rushing over me. I opened my eyes and realized that I was on the ground with Keith's arms around me. Arceus was before us, gathering soul orbs. That meant that the capture was successful! I shifted slightly, and relaxed against Keith as he looked down at me.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Everything is. Thank God" I said, relieved that we had made it, and I stared at the beauty of Arceus and the small soul orbs rushing to one spot. Keith, Sven, Wendy and I all watched in awe.

Arceus let out a loud cry, and every Pokémon spirit trapped in each soul orb rose out of the orb, and floated to the sky. The orbs dropped to the ground in a pile, drained of power. The bitter spirits within them were finally free; finally at peace.

I felt tears gathering in my eyes. Tears of happiness as I said, "Thank you, Arceus".

Arceus looked down at me, floated down and nuzzled the side of my face; a kind of thanks for freeing it from its enraged state I supposed. I couldn't help but laugh at its pet-like antics though. Who knew a Legendary could be so cute?

Arceus rose back up, but looked down at the Haunter, still trapped in its orb, cowering. Arceus let out a final cry, and the Haunter was risen out of the orb, and disappeared into vapor, only it's spirit remaining, as it rushed into the sky to join the other spirits it had released.

"It's gone. Haunter is at peace, and all the sacrificed Pokémon are as well… This will never happen again," I said with a smile, as I sat up. Ice and Lavana had made it to the base of Peril Cliffs, only to be swarmed by entire squads of Rangers, ready for their arrest.

"Let's go home" Wendy said, and we all nodded. We gathered up the now useless soul orbs and divided them between our backpacks, just in case they could still cause any harmful effects if consumed, and we were off.

"I'm waiting" I said impatiently, tapping my foot, as Keith stood in front of me, pacing nervously. He finally had to tell me what Lavana had meant about Keith helping Team Dim Sun with that seemingly indestructible dome.

"Hah, right… Okay… So, do you remember when I disappeared for a while after we defeated Team Dim Sun the first time?" he asked sheepishly. I nodded solemnly, not liking where this was going.

"Right. So, shortly after mission ended, right before Rhythmi's big picnic, I got a text message from an anonymous number on my Styler. It said, '_We have your sister. Come to Lyra Forest alone. We're watching you. If any other Rangers are notified, you will never see your sister again._' They included a picture of her, tied up and gagged. I had to go, and I couldn't tell anyone in case they actually were watching me. So I went and I was met with some Team Dim Sun admins who took me to this warehouse with a bunch of materials and told me that I had to build a dome that was indestructible. They told me that they wanted a Ranger to do it since I'd know what kind of things to defend against, so it would be an inside job, and they wouldn't give back Flora unless I made the dome and it stood the Pokémon attack test. So I did it. I made the dome," he admitted, hanging his head.

He was about to continue, before I cut in, "You should have told us Keith! We could've helped you! Or at least-"

"I'm not finished," he said calmly, holding a hand up to silence me. I _hated_ when he did that, but I crossed my arms and waited reluctantly for him to finish his story.

"I figured I could handle it without bringing you guys into it or endangering Flora. You were needed here in Almia, and I was in Fiore, and that wouldn't matter much now, but back then, our Styler's didn't get reception outside Almia. That's how I knew that whoever texted me must've been in Almia, and was probably watching me," he continued. I nodded, remembering how limited our Styler's were back then.

"So, I had a plan. I'd get Flora back, and secretly destroy it myself," he continued, still pacing anxiously as he explained.

"You planned to destroy something indestructible?" I asked, and again, he held his hand up to silence me. I glared, but again, fell silent.

"They gave me a bunch of materials to use for proofing. Fireproofing, waterproofing, shockproof, psychic proof, ice proof, acid, shatter, anything you can think of, I proofed against it. No one on Team Dim Sun could design things like I could. What they didn't know was I went a little… lighter… on the fireproofing than I should have. It was fireproof enough to withstand Pokemon attacks, but not something as strong lava," Keith said, and I knew where he was going with this.

"Keith-" he held up his hand again. I lost it. "Will you stop doing that!?" I screamed, angry at his dismissal of any remark I had to make.

"Then stop interrupting me!" He cried back, "I don't need a judgemental narrative, thank you very much!" he finished, also clearly irritated by this point. Somehow, his angry response just angered me further.

"But honestly, you thought you would destroy this thing with lava!? That they wouldn't think of that!? It's in her _name_, kind of her element!" I cried out.

"I know that! It's a little more complex than you think, and it you'd let _me_ finish the story, you'd figure that out!" he cried in frustration. We fought like this all the time; the fact that we were both sort of hot heads made our arguments a constant battle to be heard over the other. I held back from yelling and creating a bigger argument only because I knew I had to hear the end of the story He continued, "Once I finished building it, and they had tested it, they gave Flora back. I obviously put her under Ranger Protection Services so they couldn't attack her again, but I didn't tell them why just in case we we're being watched. I left Fiore, but I didn't come home. I stopped off at Hoenn, captured a bunch of bird Pokémon, and had them help me fly back to Fiore, break into the lab in disguise, steal the dome, and drop it into Mt. Chimney. It was a pretty far flight, so I'd capture other bird Pokémon while flying, and let some of them go when they got tired. When we dropped it in, the heat got to it fast, and I saw it cracking and chipping before it sank to the bottom… But that must've been a decoy. I don't know how I didn't think of that, but… I didn't. I really had thought I'd taken care of it… So I came home…" he finally admitted, hanging his head.

"You done?" I asked, after a short silence. He nodded, and I got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked, and I looked back at him.

"Look, I just took in a lot of information, and I need to go out for a bit" I said grabbing my coat.

"It's dark out, let me go with you," he said, taking a step towards me.

"Keith. I need some time… _away _from you," I said, looking over my shoulder at him. His face grew cold, like he didn't care, but I could see that little shoulders slump in defeat. With Keith, that small movement always meant he was hurt, but so was I. Hurt, angry, betrayed… I couldn't comfort him now. I had to take some time to think things through.

"Fine. Go. Do whatever you need to. I didn't expect you to forgive me," he said, his voice almost a monotone.

I sighed, walked up to him, and kissed him lightly. He tensed up at first, obviously not expecting any sign of affection, but he still returned the kiss. After breaking away I said softly, "I _do _forgive you. But it doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you. I'll be back later." I said, heading to the door again. I only caught a glimpse of him before I left, but in his eyes, I saw a glimmer of hope.

I crept back into the apartment after I had spent some time patrolling Almia. It was about 3AM now, and Keith had eventually given up on waiting for me and gone to bed, since all was dark and empty. It was hard to stay mad at him for too long, and I was sure we'd both had enough time to cool off from our earlier argument.

I snuck quietly into our room. Keith was lying in bed, the moon casting light from the window over his form. He didn't move as I came in; Keith slept like the dead, and he was nearly impossible to wake up before morning. I undressed, let my hair down and silently crawled into bed next to him.

I guess Keith wasn't asleep after all, for as soon as he felt the movement, he immediately rolled over to face me and pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around him as his warmth began spreading to me.

"I love you so much," he murmured into my hair, and I ran my fingers through his as I told him I loved him as well. He pulled back slightly to look at me, still holding me close. "I'm so sorry. About everything. I'm sorry I worked for Team Dim Sun. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it. All of this could have been avoided if I had," he admitted, his eyes filled with remourse.

"Don't dwell on 'could haves' Love. Technically we 'could have' gone to Fiore, faced Ice and Lavana and been killed. Of course I wish you'd have told me, but I told you I forgave you already. I just needed some time to chill out a bit. You know how I can get," I said, smiling slightly.

"We both can," he pointed out, moving one hand to my stomach. "This baby doesn't stand a chance," he grinned, and I giggled.

"We'll be a very… _loud_ family. I can tell," I laughed lightly, and Keith laughed with me.

"Yeah, we will," he agreed. He pulled me closer again, placing his forehead on mine, his expression softening, "I was so worried I would lose you over this," he said sadly, looking into my eyes.

"Really? Come on, babe. You really think I'm that easy to get rid of?" I smirked, and he just kissed me. He really was impossible to stay mad at, especially at times like this. Keith knew exactly what buttons to press with me. He could make me incredibly angry, and incredibly happy, he could make me laugh so hard I cried, and make me smile when I was crying. He knew how to read me after the years we'd been partners, then a couple, then engaged, then married. He didn't know much about women, _that's _for sure, but he knew about me, and I knew the same things about him. Sure, we didn't always understand each other's thoughts and feelings 100%, but who does? We understood each other where it counts, and we knew how to work through issues.

Once he broke away, I said, "Look, no matter what happens, we can always work through it. I promised you forever, didn't I? And we're having a baby. What you did was wrong, and I'm still a little mad, but being married is about being able to let things go and forgive each other. At the time, you thought you were doing the right thing, and everyone makes mistakes now and then. The point is, we saved Almia again, and we ended up solving problems that we didn't even know existed. If all of this hadn't happened, we never would've calmed Arceus, or released that Haunter, right? So in a way, it was all for the best," I finished. Keith smiled at me.

"You know just what to say to me, don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've had years of practice speaking Keith. One of the most nonsensical languages known to man or Pokémon," I said sarcastically.

Keith laughed and lightly tapped the top on my head with his wrist. "Stupid. Go to sleep," he said teasingly. I laughed and kissed his cheek, and he kissed the top of my head, as we settled in and finally got to sleep.

**7 months later**

A cry rang out in the middle of the night, and Keith and I groaned in unison. "Whose turn is it this time?" he asked in exhaustion.

"I got her… 19 minutes ago" I said checking the lit digital clock next to the bed.

Keith sat up and looked as well "I win, I got her 10" he countered, as I staggered to my feet. We barely ever got a good night's sleep since April was born, but that was okay. We got our sleep in napping increments throughout the day.

I picked up my baby girl, and began checking for what she wanted. She didn't seem hungry, or wet, but she stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. She just wanted to be cuddled again. I sat in the rocking chair, and began trying to rock her to sleep.

April hadn't been posing as much trouble as we thought she would. I would spend 3 days a week taking care of her, Keith would spend 3 with her, and one day a week, Rhythmi, Wendy, Sven and Mimi took turns babysitting for us. Sometimes, my Mom and Dad would even take her for an evening so we would get one night without a crying baby waking us up several times per hour. Whoever coined the term, "sleeping like a baby" obviously had never had one, because any parent will tell you that more often than not, it means the complete opposite of what it implies.

Keith's parents and sister had even come to visit us from Fiore a couple times since she was born. They all absolutely adored April, and Flora was ecstatic about being an Auntie. We promised her that she could stay with us as a live-in Nanny for a few weeks over the summer, once school was over. She really wanted to, and to be honest, we wouldn't mind a bit of a break from childcare, even though we would still be there with them, and spending time with our daughter.

I looked down at April, who was finally drifting off to sleep, then looked up and saw Keith in the doorway.

"She sure is a cuddlebug, isn't she?" he asked, smiling.

"She takes after her Daddy," I teased, as he walked over and kissed me.

"Ready to come back to bed, hun?" He asked, taking April from my arms. I nodded, and couldn't help but smile at the way Keith would look at her whenever he held her, and the way he'd light up whenever she smiled or laughed.

Our family wasn't perfect. Work did make things a little strenuous at times, but Erma understood that we had a baby to take care of, so she was very lenient with us. Besides that, I noticed that Keith and I would get into stupid little arguments over nothing a lot more often than we used to, but that was a result of us both being tired and cranky. We also still found things to laugh about, talk about, and still found time for each other. We had the best family and friends in the world, and they would give us some time alone together whenever we needed it. Whether it was for an hour, or an evening, they'd make time to watch April.

Keith laid April in her crib, and pushed her favorite Jigglypuff plushie into her arms. She cuddled it in her sleep, and as she did, it began playing Jigglypuff's song melody, only a music box version. It always helped her sleep, and anything that helped her sleep, helped us sleep too. Keith covered her up, and we headed back to our room, hand in hand. Yeah, our family might not be perfect… But it was pretty darn close.

**Oh my goodness, I finally finished it! I'm sorry it took so long, but I also made it an extra-long chapter to compensate! I had to make the ending super-cute. What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. Just hope it was worth the wait! I hope you guys enjoyed the read, and I'll probably start some new ones when I have the time. I'm so glad I got so much support on this fanfiction, and I can't tell you how much I loved writing, with so much inspiration from you guys! :) You're awesome!**


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